title: Balantidium coli pneumonia in an immunocompromised patient.
abstract: A fatal case is reported of Balantidium coli pneumonia in a 71-y-old woman suffering from anal cancer. The diagnosis was made by the discovery of motile trophozoites in a wet mount from bronchial secretions. The usual habitat of the parasite is the colon; lung balantidiasis is very rare.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, 'Laikon' General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vasilakopoulou
authors.forename: Kyriaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dimarongona
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samakovli
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Papadimitris
authors.forename: Athina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avlami
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001447:Balantidiasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001448:Balantidium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D008174:Lung Diseases, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index