Detection of parvovirus B19 and Chlamydophila pneumoniae in a patient with atypical sarcoidosis

Infection. 2009 Feb;37(1):52-5. doi: 10.1007/s15010-007-6313-7. Epub 2007 Sep 28.

Abstract

We present an elderly female patient with fever, aplastic anemia, arthralgic symptoms and atypical pneumonia. Serological and clinical findings suggested Parvovirus B19 and Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection. These supposed infections delayed the recognition of underlying sarcoidosis which definitive diagnosis was reached through a lung biopsy and histological demonstration of nonnecrotizing granulomas containing giant cells and noncaseating epithelioid cells. The present case highlights the potential difficulty to diagnose sarcoidosis in the presence of unusual infections which may complicate the course of this disease.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Chlamydophila Infections / complications*
  • Chlamydophila Infections / microbiology
  • Chlamydophila pneumoniae / isolation & purification*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lung / pathology
  • Parvoviridae Infections / complications*
  • Parvoviridae Infections / virology
  • Parvovirus B19, Human / isolation & purification*
  • Pneumonia / etiology
  • Sarcoidosis / complications*
  • Sarcoidosis / diagnosis*