TABLE 1.
Quantification of P. jirovecii DNA in respiratory specimens from South African patients with suspected Pneumocystis pneumonia
| Specimen and IF microscopy result | No. of patients | No. of patients qPCR positive | Median (range) P. jirovecii DNA quantitya |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sputum | |||
| Positive | 140 | 140 | 3,062 (8-291,894) |
| Negativeb | 173 | 30 | 7 (1-499) |
| Equivocalc | 12 | 10 | 151 (9-1,549) |
| Tracheal aspirate | |||
| Positive | 7 | 7 | 1,921 (10-180,498) |
| Negative | 4 | 1 | 0.8 |
| Equivocal | 1 | 0 | |
| Bronchoalveolar lavage | |||
| Positive | 2 | 2 | 54,766 (3-109,529) |
| Negative | 3 | 0 | |
| Otherd | |||
| Positive | 1 | 1 | 299 |
| Negative | 11 | 1 | 4 |
| Equivocal | 1 | 0 |
a
Expressed as the target number of gene copies/μl of extracted DNA. Detailed information regarding the handling of specimens and DNA extraction conditions is provided in Materials and Methods.
b
A set of 205 specimens from 191 patients from among the 530 patients with IF microscopy-negative results was arbitrarily chosen for qPCR analysis.
c
Immunofluorescence microscopy was suggestive of P. jirovecii, but the result was not conclusive.
d
Includes two bronchial washings, two nasopharyngeal aspirates, one pleural fluid specimen, and eight samples of unknown specimen types.