The changing face of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in AIDS patients

• Published in: American journal of roentgenology (1976) Vol. 172; no. 5; pp. 1301 - 1309
• Main Authors: Boiselle, PM, Crans, CA, Jr, Kaplan, MA
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Leesburg, VA Am Roentgen Ray Soc 01.05.1999; American Roentgen Ray Society
• Subjects: Adult; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - diagnostic imaging; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - microbiology; AIDS/HIV; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Lung - diagnostic imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis - diagnostic imaging; Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry; Respiratory system; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Human; Immunopathology; Lung disease; Opportunistic infection; Pneumonia; Protozoal disease; Radiodiagnosis; Respiratory disease; Radiologic investigation; Pneumocystis carinii; AIDS; Parasitosis; Immune deficiency; Fungi; Infection; Viral disease; Medical imagery; Computerized axial tomography; Fungi Imperfecti; Thallophyta
• ISSN: 0361-803X; 1546-3141
• DOI: 10.2214/ajr.172.5.10227507

The classic presentation of PCP is a bilateral interstitial pattern, which may be characterized as finely granular, reticular, or ground-glass opacities. When chest radiographic findings are normal or equivocal, high-resolution CT may be helpful because it is more sensitive than chest radiography for detecting PCP. The typical CT finding is extensive ground-glass attenuation. The face of PCP is changing. The classic radiographic presentation is being encountered less frequently. Increasingly recognized characteristic patterns of PCP include cystic lung disease, spontaneous pneumothorax, and an upper lobe distribution of parenchymal opacities. The spectrum of abnormalities associated with PCP is broadening and now includes abnormalities of the lung parenchyma, airways, lymph nodes, and pleura. An awareness of the varied presentations of PCP is important because the radiologist is often the first to suggest the diagnosis of PCP.