Pneumocystis carinii in human lungs at autopsy.
To get some information about the prevalence of Pneumocystis carinii in the Danish population we have examined autopsy lung biopsies from patients at 2 large hospitals in Copenhagen, Righospitalet (RH) and Finseninstituttet (F), in a 5-year period from 1979 to 1984. Imprints made from the biopsies were stained with the toluidine blue O method and examined microscopically for pneumocysts. A total of 1762 patients were examined and pneumocysts found in 83 (4.7%); at RH 54 (4.9%) of 1106 patients and at F29 (4.4%) of 656 patients. A possible influence of certain climatic factors on the prevalence of pneumocysts in humans was shown: low temperature, low vapour pressure and low relative humidity seem to be correlated with low prevalence of pneumocysts. The general use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in the hospitals may possibly influence the prevalence of pneumocysts: the amount requested in the period of the investigation is negatively correlated with the prevalence of pneumocysts.
D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D003718:Denmark; D004338:Drug Combinations / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D008168:Lung / Q000469:parasitology*; D011010:Pneumocystis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013696:Temperature; D014295:Trimethoprim / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination
D004338:Drug Combinations; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination; D014295:Trimethoprim; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole