Del Prete V, Paterno G, Cennamo O, Berrilli F, Di Cave D. The effect of COVID-19 on the frequency of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia: a monocentric, retrospective, and observational study.
BMC Infect Dis 2023;
23:693. [PMID:
37848811 PMCID:
PMC10583417 DOI:
10.1186/s12879-023-08545-w]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) and SARS-CoV2 share some similarities in their effects on the respiratory system, clinical presentation, and management. The COVID-19 pandemic required rapid action to curb transmission and mitigate its lethiferous impact. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were globally adopted. We hypothesized that these measures reduced the transmission and acquisition of P. jirovecii in both hospital and community settings.
METHODS
We conducted a retrospective observational study on 2950 respiratory specimens from patients with suspected pulmonary infection, analyzed at the Laboratory of Parasitology Unit of the Policlinico Tor Vergata of Rome, Italy, from January 2014 to December 2022.
RESULTS
We show a significant reduction in the frequency of PCP in the COVID-19 pandemic era compared to the previous period. Among the four sequence types of P. jirovecii identified, genotype 1 was the most prevalent (37%). We observed a non-significant trend of decreasing cases with genotype 1 and increasing cases with genotype 3 over the study period.
CONCLUSIONS
The nationwide implementation of NPIs against COVID-19 may have changed the microbiological landscape of exposure, thereby decreasing the exposure to P. jirovecii and consequently reducing the incidence of PCP.
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