Table 1.
Characteristics of ICU Patients with Severe COVID-19 for Whom a Specific Research for P. jirovecii Pneumonia Has Been Conducted
| Demographic characteristics and underlying conditions |
|
| Number of patients | 145 |
| Age, mean (±SD), yr | 54 (±12) |
| Sex, M/F | 104/41 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 83/143 (58) |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 46/143 (32.2) |
| Overweight (BMI >25 kg/m2), n (%) | 99/140 (70.7) |
| Preexisting risk factors for P. jirovecii pneumonia | |
| Solid organ transplant, n (%) | 14/143 (9.8) |
| HIV infection, n (%)* | 6/142 (4.2) |
| Corticosteroid therapy (>0.3 mg/kg/d), n (%) | 4/143 (2.8) |
| Hematological malignancies, n (%) | 4/143 (2.8) |
| ICU management and clinical characteristics | |
| Corticosteroid therapy (>20 mg/d), n (%)† | 22/132 (16.7) |
| Nadir absolute lymphocytes count/μl, median (IQR) (number of patients with available data) | 690 (435–940) (n = 143) |
| SAPS II score, median (IQR) (number of patients with available data) | 47 (32–63) (n = 108) |
| Venovenous ECMO, n (%) | 73/135 (54%) |
| Worst PaO2/FiO2, median (IQR) (number of patients with available data) | 60 (51–73) (n = 135) |
| ICU stay, d, median (IQR) (number of patients with available data) | 28 (15–47) (n = 129) |
| Intubation period, d, median (IQR) (number of patients with available data) | 27 (14–45) (n = 129) |
| P. jirovecii PCR, % of positive samples (n) | |
| BAL | 1% (3/312) |
| Tracheal aspiration | 0% (0/110) |
| Pleural liquid | 0% (0/1) |
| Patients with positive PCR | 1.4% (2/145) |
Definition of abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; COVID-19 = coronavirus disease; ECMO = extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; IQR = interquartile range; P. jirovecii = Pneumocystis jirovecii.
*
All HIV-infected patients received antiretroviral therapy at the time COVID-19 was diagnosed. Five patients had absolute CD4+ lymphocytes cells >200/μl; one patient had 184 CD4+ lymphocytes cells/μl.
†
Dexamethasone 20 mg/d or high-dose prednisone (3–5 mg/kg/d).