Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome associated with Pneumocystis pneumonia in a patient with AIDS

Abstract

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) after starting antiretroviral treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has a wide variety of causes. Delayed diagnosis and treatment of IRIS is fatal. We report a case of a 21-year-old man with HIV infection and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. The patient presented with fever and dyspnea with deterioration of pulmonary infiltrations 5 days after starting antiretroviral treatment. We reached the diagnosis of IRIS based on radial endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided lung biopsy. In conclusion, radial EBUS-guided lung biopsy via bronchoscopy is a valuable and minimally invasive technique for the rapid diagnosis of IRIS-associated Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia.