Dyspnea in homosexual male patients: throwback to an occasionally forgotten but severe clinical presentation of HIV/AIDS

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) can be a severe indicator disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We present two cases of homosexual male patients who came to the emergency unit of a Belgian hospital because of shortness of breath. Both men had been sent back home, initially diagnosed with a benign viral infection. Because of worsening symptoms and gradually evolving hypoxemia, both patients came back and were admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of (microbiology proven) Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. HIV serology in both men was tested and was clearly positive, indicating a new diagnosis of HIV infection. In this article, we provide an overview of this possibly severe AIDS defining condition. First, we give an introduction of the history of HIV/AIDS and its occurrence in homosexual males in Europe. Secondly, we provide an overview of the diagnosis and treatment of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. Finally, since the first case reports of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic also included homosexual men, we emphasize the potential importance of a sexual anamnesis in young male patients with an initial complaint of dyspnea.