Pneumocystosis

Title

Categories:

Fungal infections

Summary Summary

The following summary is from Orphanet, a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs.

Orpha Number: 723

Definition

Human pneumocystosis is caused by an infectious agent, which (after recent nomenclature and taxonomy revisions) is now classed as the fungus Pneumocystis jiroveci. The prevalence is unknown. Pneumocystis jiroveci is an opportunistic infectious agent, developing in immunosuppressed patients. It is an air-borne infection, localised to the lungs. However, extrapulmonary involvement is seen in AIDS patients. The disease manifests progressively with coughing, respiratory problems (dyspnea) and fever, followed by acute respiratory insufficiency and death within a few weeks in untreated cases. The most reliable diagnostic method is bronchoalveolar lavage. The treatment of choice is cotrimoxazole.

Visit the Orphanet disease page for more resources.

Last updated: 12/1/2006

Symptoms Symptoms

This table lists symptoms that people with this disease may have. For most diseases, symptoms will vary from person to person. People with the same disease may not have all the symptoms listed. This information comes from a database called the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) . The HPO collects information on symptoms that have been described in medical resources. The HPO is updated regularly. Use the HPO ID to access more in-depth information about a symptom.

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Medical Terms	Other Names	Learn More: HPO ID
80%-99% of people have these symptoms
Acute infectious pneumonia		0011949
Fever		0001945
Hypoxemia	Low blood oxygen level	0012418
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia		0020102
30%-79% of people have these symptoms
Abnormal neutrophil count		0011991
Combined cystic and ground-glass pattern on pulmonary HRCT		0025395
Exertional dyspnea		0002875
Immunodeficiency	Decreased immune function	0002721
Increased circulating antibody level		0010702
Interstitial pneumonitis		0006515
Nonproductive cough	Dry cough	0031246
Pleural effusion	Fluid around lungs	0002202
Respiratory failure		0002878
Respiratory failure requiring assisted ventilation		0004887
Weight loss		0001824
5%-29% of people have these symptoms
Bloodstream infectious agent		0031863
Chronic oral candidiasis	Chronic oral thrush	0009098
Increased lactate dehydrogenase level		0025435
Multiple pulmonary cysts		0005948
Neoplasm		0002664
Parenchymal consolidation		0032177

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Do you have more information about symptoms of this disease? We want to hear from you.

Last updated: 2/1/2021

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Research Research

Research helps us better understand diseases and can lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment. This section provides resources to help you learn about medical research and ways to get involved.

Clinical Research Resources

ClinicalTrials.gov lists trials that are related to Pneumocystosis. Click on the link to go to ClinicalTrials.gov to read descriptions of these studies.

Please note: Studies listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website are listed for informational purposes only; being listed does not reflect an endorsement by GARD or the NIH. We strongly recommend that you talk with a trusted healthcare provider before choosing to participate in any clinical study.

Learn More Learn More

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

In-Depth Information

The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.

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