Pneumocystis pneumonia in an immunocompetent patient developing a subacute disease course with central consolidation

Chiaki Kawame; Hidehiro Yokota; Kohei Shikano; Hajime Kasai; Masaki Suzuki; Mitsuhiro Abe; Takashi Kishimoto; Jun-Ichiro Ikeda; Seiichiro Sakao; Takuji Suzuki

doi:10.1016/j.rmcr.2022.101659

Pneumocystis pneumonia in an immunocompetent patient developing a subacute disease course with central consolidation

Respir Med Case Rep. 2022 May 1:37:101659. doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2022.101659. eCollection 2022.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respirology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ward, Chiba-city, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan.
² Department of Molecular Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ward, Chiba-city, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan.
³ Department of Pathology, Chiba University Hospital, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ward, Chiba-city, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan.

Abstract

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) typically occurs in immunocompromised individuals and rarely presents in immunocompetent individuals. A 55-year-old man was referred to our hospital with cough and anorexia that persisted for 2 months. Chest computed tomography revealed bilateral central consolidation. He was diagnosed with PCP via bronchoscopy. His symptoms and imaging findings improved with the administration of only trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole. Although he had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, there were no other complications that could potentially cause immunodeficiency. It should be noted that PCP in immunocompetent individuals can have a subacute disease course presenting with bilateral central consolidation.

Keywords: AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; CT, computed tomography; Central consolidation; GGO, ground-glass opacity; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; Immunocompetent; KL-6, Krebs von den Lungen-6; PCP, Pneumocystis pneumonia; Pneumocystis jirovecii; Pneumocystis pneumonia; TBLB, transbronchial lung biopsy.

Publication types

Case Reports