title: Primary pneumocystis infection in infants hospitalized with acute respiratory tract infection.
abstract: Acquisition of Pneumocystis jirovecii infection early in life has been confirmed by serologic studies. However, no evidence of clinical illness correlated with the primary infection has been found in immunocompetent children. We analyzed 458 nasopharyngeal aspirates from 422 patients hospitalized with 431 episodes of acute respiratory tract infection (RTI) by using a real-time PCR assay. In 68 episodes in 67 infants, P. jirovecii was identified. The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of a positive signal compared with the first quartile of age (7-49 days) was 47.4 (11.0-203), 8.7 (1.9-39.7), and 0.6 (0.1-6.7) for infants in the second (50-112 days), third (113-265 days), and fourth (268-4,430 days) age quartiles, respectively. Infants with an episode of upper RTI (URTI) were 2.0 (1.05-3.82) times more likely to harbor P. jirovecii than infants with a lower RTI. P. jirovecii may manifest itself as a self-limiting URTI in infants, predominantly those 1.5-4 months of age.
authors: Hvidovre University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. hhl@cphiv.dk
authors: Hans Henrik
authors: HH
authors: Larsen
authors: Marie-Louise
authors: ML
authors: von Linstow
authors: Bettina
authors: B
authors: Lundgren
authors: Birthe
authors: B
authors: Høgh
authors: Henrik
authors: H
authors: Westh
authors: Jens D
authors: JD
authors: Lundgren
mesh_terms: D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016720:Pneumocystis Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies