Pneumocystis Pneumonia

Symptoms of pneumocystis pneumonia include:

• Activity-induced shortness of breath

• Fever

• Dry cough

• Rapid breathing

• Exhaustion

• Significant and unintentional weight loss

• Chest pain when breathing

In people with HIV or AIDS, these symptoms tend to develop over several weeks instead of coming on hard and fast. In people who are otherwise immunocompromised, symptoms typically come on over a few days—not weeks—and are accompanied by a high fever.

If you’re experiencing one or more of these symptoms and have HIV/AIDS or another disease that weakens your immune system, contact your physician immediately. Pneumocystis pneumonia can be fatal if left untreated in immunocompromised people. You can reach us at 423-710-3864.

The good news for healthy people is that the risk of developing pneumocystis pneumonia is extremely rare. In fact, PCP-causing fungus can live in the lungs of adults for several months at a time—but their immune systems remove the fungus after a few months.

Most people who develop PCP are immunocompromised. About 40% of people who develop PCP have HIV/AIDS. The remaining 60% of PCP cases come from people who are usually taking medication that lowers their ability to fight illness, or have other medical conditions like:

• Stem cell transplant

• Blood cancer

• Solid organ transplant

• Inflammatory disease/autoimmune disorders (like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis)

Pneumocystis pneumonia is diagnosed by taking a sample from the lungs. This sample can either be mucus coughed up by the patient, or collected via a procedure called bronchoalveolar lavage. During this procedure, a bronchoscope is passed through the nose and mouth and into the lungs. This allows physicians to collect a small part of the lung to examine for the presence of the fungus.

In other cases, blood tests can be used to help diagnose PCP.

Pneumocystis pneumonia is officially classified as a type of fungal pneumonia, but it does not respond to typical antifungal treatment. For this reason, pneumocystis pneumonia must be treated with a specific kind of medication. If left untreated, PCP can be fatal—even in healthy people who do contract the disease. This medication is typically given either orally or intravenously for 3 weeks.

To help treat symptoms of pneumonia, your doctor may also suggest various medications to manage your pain and fever.

There is currently no vaccine that can help prevent PCP (unlike viral and bacterial pneumonia), but this is under development. In the meantime, there are good oral medications and IV therapies for acute illness and treatment, plus therapies to take for prevention and maintenance therapy in certain situations.  

If you are at risk of contracting PCP due to exposure from the Pneumocystis jirovecii fungus, your physician will work with you to develop a plan of care that reduces your risk of exposure to this fungus.