Acquired Immunodeficiency from Maternal Chemotherapy and Severe Primary Pneumocystis Infection in an Infant

Adeline Yi Ling Lim; Adrian Christian Mattke; Julia Elizabeth Clark; Alberto Pinzon-Charry; Nelson Alphonso; Nitin Kapur

doi:10.1155/2020/5740304

Acquired Immunodeficiency from Maternal Chemotherapy and Severe Primary Pneumocystis Infection in an Infant

Case Rep Pediatr. 2020 Mar 15:2020:5740304. doi: 10.1155/2020/5740304. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Adeline Yi Ling Lim¹, Adrian Christian Mattke^{2

3}, Julia Elizabeth Clark^{4

5}, Alberto Pinzon-Charry^{6

7}, Nelson Alphonso^{5

8}, Nitin Kapur^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Queensland Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia.
² Department of Pediatric Intensive Care, Queensland Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia.
³ Pediatric Critical Care Research Group, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
⁴ Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Management Prevention Service, Queensland Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia.
⁵ School of Clinical Medicine, Children's Health Queensland Clinical Unit, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
⁶ Queensland Pediatric Immunology and Allergy Service, Queensland Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia.
⁷ School of Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia.
⁸ Cardiac Surgery, Queensland Pediatric Cardiac Service, Queensland Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia.

Abstract

Pneumocystis jirovecii is recognized as an opportunistic pathogen in immunosuppressed patients. We report a case of severe Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in an infant with acquired combined immunodeficiency secondary to maternal chemotherapy exposure during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The infant required cardiorespiratory support with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) for severe respiratory failure. This case highlights the potential for severe acquired immunodeficiency in this patient cohort and further postnatal surveillance is highly recommended.

Publication types

Case Reports