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Volume 5, Issue 1

Post-COVID-19 pneumonia cases from Pakistan: an observational study Open Access

Abstract

. Concurrent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and pneumonia (PJP) has been described in various reports, with a recent study describing a 9.3 % . detection rate in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

. Patients with PCR-confirmed PJP following COVID-19 infection who were admitted to Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan from March 2020–June 2021 were identified through a laboratory database. Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus was performed by RT-PCR Cobas SARS-CoV-2 qualitative assay. PCR was performed using the RealStar PCR kit. Clinical, radiological and laboratory data for PJP patients were recorded.

. During the study period, 3707 patients were admitted with COVID-19 at our hospital. PCR was requested for 90 patients and was positive in 10 (11 %). Five out of 10 patients were discharged from the hospital and later developed cough and dyspnoea. Five patients remained hospitalized with severe COVID-19 and developed PJP. Eight patients in our study received systemic steroids. The trends of lymphocyte counts of all patients showed a lymphocyte count of <1000 mm (<1.0×10 cells µl) in the week of PJP diagnosis. Four patients did not survive; one of these patients did not receive co-trimoxazole due to late diagnosis, one patient had concomitant nosocomial pneumonia and bacteraemia with multidrug-resistant species, and two patients had concomitant aspergillosis.

. In summary, invasive fungal infections such as PJP should be considered as a complication in COVID-19 patients, with prompt evaluation and management.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): COVID-19 , fungal infection , Pakistan , Pneumocystis pneumonia and superinfection
© 2023 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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2023-01-05
2024-04-19
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Post-COVID-19 Pneumocystis pneumonia cases from Pakistan: an observational study
Access Microbiology 5, 000406 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.000406
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