Comparing Polymerase Chain Reaction Testing of Nasopharyngeal Swab and Lower Respiratory Tract Specimens for the Diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia

Abstract

Using nasopharyngeal (NP) swab samples instead of lower respiratory tract specimens for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to diagnose Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) may be better tolerated and improve diagnostic accessibility. In this 2-year Australian retrospective cohort study of patients with clinically suspected PJP, P jirovecii PCR on NP swab samples had perfect specificity but low sensitivity (0.66).