Not COVID-19, Don’t Overlook Pneumocystis in Patients on Gefitinib!

SIMPLE SUMMARY: COVID-19 pneumonia can be confused with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) on computed tomography and is a source of misdiagnosis. This can lead to mistreatment and an increased risk of mortality. Gefitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor anti-EGFR used in cancer therapy and cortico...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Barben, Jérémy, Quipourt, Valérie, Vovelle, Jérémie, Putot, Alain, Manckoundia, Patrick
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Case Report
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7985782/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33617512
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/curroncol28010094
Descripción
Sumario:SIMPLE SUMMARY: COVID-19 pneumonia can be confused with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) on computed tomography and is a source of misdiagnosis. This can lead to mistreatment and an increased risk of mortality. Gefitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor anti-EGFR used in cancer therapy and corticosteroids, could increase the risk of PJP. ABSTRACT: An 82-year-old woman treated for advanced lung cancer with gefitinb was admitted to the emergency unit complaining of dyspnea. Chest computed tomography found abnormalities classified as possible diffuse COVID-19 pneumonia. RT-PCR for Sars-Cov-2 was twice negative. PCR for Pneumocystis jirovecii was positive on bronchoalveolar lavage. The final diagnosis was Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. Therefore, physicians must be careful not to misdiagnose COVID-19, especially in cancer patients on small-molecule therapeutics like gefitinib and corticosteroids.

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