title: [Etiology of pneumonia in chilean HIV-infected adult patients].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish the etiology of pneumonia and to compare the yield of diagnostic techniques for diagnosis of Pneumocystis jiroveci and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections in HIV-1-infected patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects underwent sputum induction and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Gram, Ziehl-Neelsen, silver stain (SS) and immunofluorescense staining (IF) for P. jiroveci, fluorescent stain for mycobacteria, PCR for P. jiroveci and M. tuberculosis, aerobic, fungal and mycobacterial cultures, respiratory viruses and CMV cultures were performed on the sputum and BAL. IgM for Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophyla pneumoniae, and Legionella pneumophila urinary antigen were also obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty patients were included. An etiologic diagnosis was made in 97%. Pneumocystis jiroveci was the most frequent etiology (58%) followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae (12%), and Mycobacterium avium complex (12%). Mycobacterium tuberculosis was found in 5%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The comparison of diagnostic methods for P. jiroveci showed a higher sensitivity of IF and SS in BAL than in sputum, however PCR was equally sensitive in both samples. With this approach a precise etiologic diagnosis was reached in the great majority of patients. The most common etiology was P. jiroveci. IF in BAL remains the gold standard for diagnosis of P. jiroveci pneumonia.
authors: Departamento de Medicina Interna, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. cape@med.puc.cl
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Pérez
authors: Patricia
authors: P
authors: García
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Calvo
authors: Jaime
authors: J
authors: Labarca
authors: Marisol
authors: M
authors: Bustos
authors: Teresa
authors: T
authors: Beroíza
authors: Pablo
authors: P
authors: Gaete
authors: Rodrigo
authors: R
authors: Moreno
authors: Guillermo
authors: G
authors: Acuña
authors: Pablo
authors: P
authors: Vial
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult