Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009;41(9):672-8.
doi: 10.1080/00365540903051633.

Severity and outcomes of Pneumocystis pneumonia in patients newly diagnosed with HIV infection: an observational cohort study

Matthew W Fei  1 , Catherine A Sant, Eunice J Kim, Alexandra Swartzman, J Lucian Davis, Leah G Jarlsberg, Laurence Huang
Affiliations

Severity and outcomes of Pneumocystis pneumonia in patients newly diagnosed with HIV infection: an observational cohort study

Matthew W Fei et al. Scand J Infect Dis. 2009.

Abstract

It is unclear whether patients who are unaware of their HIV infection have different severity or outcomes of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) compared to patients who have been previously diagnosed with HIV. In this retrospective observational cohort study of consecutive HIV-infected patients with microscopically diagnosed PCP at San Francisco General Hospital between 1997 and 2006, 121 of 522 patients (23%) were unaware of their HIV infection prior to their diagnosis of PCP. The proportion of patients with concurrently diagnosed HIV and PCP each year remained unchanged during the study period. Patients with newly diagnosed HIV had a significantly higher alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient at presentation (median 51 vs 45 mm Hg, p =0.03), but there were no differences in mortality, frequency of mechanical ventilation, or admission to intensive care compared to patients with previously diagnosed HIV infection. In multivariate analysis, patients who reported a sexual risk factor for HIV infection were more likely to be newly diagnosed with HIV than patients who reported injection drug use as their only HIV risk factor (odds ratio = 3.14, 95% CI 1.59-6.18, p=0.001). This study demonstrates a continued need for HIV education and earlier HIV testing, particularly in patients with high-risk sexual behavior.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cases of HIV-associated Pneumocystis pneumonia at San Francisco General Hospital (n = 522), 1997–2006.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kaplan JE, Hanson D, Dworkin MS, Frederick T, Bertolli J, Lindegren ML, et al. Epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus-associated opportunistic infections in the United States in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Clin Infect Dis. 2000 Apr;30( Suppl 1):S5–14. - PubMed
    1. Morris A, Lundgren JD, Masur H, Walzer PD, Hanson DL, Frederick T, et al. Current epidemiology of Pneumocystis pneumonia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004 Oct;10(10):1713–20. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Azoulay E, Parrot A, Flahault A, Cesari D, Lecomte I, Roux P, et al. AIDS-related Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in the era of adjunctive steroids: implication of BAL neutrophilia. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999 Aug;160(2):493–9. - PubMed
    1. Poznansky MC, Coker R, Skinner C, Hill A, Bailey S, Whitaker L, et al. HIV positive patients first presenting with an AIDS defining illness: characteristics and survival. BMJ. 1995 Jul 15;311(6998):156–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pulvirenti J, Herrera P, Venkataraman P, Ahmed N. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in HIV-infected patients in the HAART era. AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2003 Jun;17(6):261–5. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances