Significance of positive semi-quantitative PCR tests on bronchoalveolar lavage for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in HIV-negative immunocompromised ICU patients with acute respiratory failure.

ABSTRACT:

Context

Real-time PCR (rt-PCR) using cycle threshold (Ct) is a semi-quantitative way to assess DNA amounts, which has become broadly used to diagnose Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) in non-HIV immunocompromised patients. We aimed to describe the non-HIV immunocompromised patients hospitalized in intensive care unit (ICU) for acute respiratory failure (ARF) and to evaluate the relevance of PJP rt-PCR Ct value in diagnosing PJP. Moreover, the added value of serum 1.3 ß-D-glucan (BDG) assay in this population was also assessed.

Methods

All non-HIV immunocompromised ICU patients with ARF with at least one rt-PCR performed in broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) from 2013 to 2023 were retrospectively included. Patients with a positive RT-PCR were classified by reviewers aware of

SUBMITTER: Vaconsin LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12554852 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature