Molecular and microscopy detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii in hospitalized patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Frontiers in Medicine

Medicine

Roya Matouri¹  Faezeh Rouhi¹  Somayeh Mousavi¹  Nader Pestechian²  Hossein Mirhendi³  Shima Aboutalebian³  Elahe Nasri⁴  Hamed Fakhim⁴  Somayeh Sadeghi⁴  Soodabeh Rostami⁴  Mahnaz Hosseini⁵  Safiyeh Ghafel⁵ 

[1] Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;Mycology Reference Laboratory, Research Core Facilities Laboratory, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;Mycology Reference Laboratory, Research Core Facilities Laboratory, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;

关键词: Pneumocystis jirovecii;    COVID-19;    epidemiology;    nested PCR;    staining;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2023.1148320

 received in 2023-01-26, accepted in 2023-03-20,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionEarly detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii as an opportunistic pathogen that may endanger predisposed persons, including COVID-19 patients, may help to choose the optimal management.MethodsIn this study, 585, including 530 COVID-19 patients, with clinical and radiological evidence of respiratory diseases, were investigated for P. jirovecii screening. Clinical specimens were examined by direct microscopy and PCR, and randomly selected positive PCR products were confirmed through DNA sequence analysis.ResultsThirty-one (5.3%) samples were positive in P. jirovecii-specific nested-PCR, while by direct microscopic tests, Pneumocystis was observed in 22 (3.76%) samples. Males (61.7%) and patients over 50 years old (75.6%) were more commonly affected than others, and malaise and fatigue (84%), and wheezing (75%) were the most common symptoms, followed by fever (40.48%) and dyspnea (39.51%). Among the Pneumocystis-positive patients, three cases had coinfection with Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, and A. niger (each n = 1), as documented by direct microscopy, culture, and species identification by PCR-sequencing.ConclusionPneumocystis pneumonia is still a diagnostic challenge; therefore, additional large-scale studies are needed to clarify the epidemiology of the disease in immunocompromised or COVID-19 patients.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Matouri, Aboutalebian, Nasri, Sadeghi, Rostami, Fakhim, Ghafel, Hosseini, Mousavi, Rouhi, Pestechian and Mirhendi.