Pneumocystis colonization in asthmatic patients not receiving oral corticosteroid therapy

J Investig Med. 2017 Apr;65(4):800-802. doi: 10.1136/jim-2016-000381. Epub 2017 Feb 13.

Abstract

Pneumocystis jirovecii can colonize patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. To determine if colonization occurs in asthma patients, sputum samples from 10 patients with mild asthma, who were not receiving oral corticosteroids, were evaluated by a sensitive real-time PCR assay that targets a multicopy gene of P. jirovecii. 2 patients (20%) had Pneumocystis DNA detected; 1 patient had 3 positive samples over an 11-day period. Thus, Pneumocystis colonization occurs in asthma patients, and further studies are warranted to evaluate its role in airways disease.

Trial registration number: NCT01113034.

Keywords: Asthma; Lung Diseases.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Adrenal Cortex Hormones / administration & dosage*
  • Adrenal Cortex Hormones / therapeutic use*
  • Adult
  • Asthma / drug therapy*
  • Asthma / microbiology*
  • Colony Count, Microbial
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pneumocystis / growth & development*
  • Sputum / microbiology
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Adrenal Cortex Hormones

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01113034