Prognostic significance of crazy paving ground grass opacities in non-HIV Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia: an observational cohort study

BACKGROUND: In patients with non-HIV Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PjP), computed tomography imaging reveals ground grass opacities (GGO). Previous reports show that some patients with non-HIV PjP exhibit GGO with crazy paving. However, there have been no studies on the association between crazy paving GGO and non-HIV PjP clinical outcomes. Here, at the diagnosis of non-HIV PjP, we reviewed high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings that included GGO types and evaluated the prognostic impact of crazy paving GGO on the clinical outcomes of non-HIV PjP immunocompromised patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical information including the HRCT findings of patients diagnosed with non-HIV PjP from five institutions between 2006 and 2015. The GGO types included those with or without crazy paving. The associations between clinical factors such as HRCT findings and in-hospital mortality were assessed using the Cox regression model. RESULTS: Sixty-one patients were included in our study. Nineteen patients died at a hospital. All patients exhibited GGO on HRCT imaging at diagnosis of non-HIV PjP. The HRCT findings included crazy paving GGO (29 patients, 47.5%), consolidations (23 patients, 37.7%), bronchiectasis (14 patients, 23.0%), and centrilobular small nodules (30 patients, 49.2%). Cysts were not observed in any patient. Multivariate analysis revealed that crazy paving GGO and low serum albumin levels were independent risk factors for mortality. CONCLUSIONS: At the diagnosis of non-HIV PjP, patients with crazy paving GGO on HRCT imaging and low serum albumin levels may have a poor prognosis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12890-019-0813-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.