Pneumocystis primary infection in infancy: Additional French data and review of the literature

Abstract

Data on features of Pneumocystis primary infection in infancy are still fragmented. To study Pneumocystis primary infection, 192 infants who were monitored for acute pulmonary disease or fever over a 40-month period were retrospectively investigated. P. jirovecii detection on archival nasopharyngeal aspirates was performed using a qPCR assay. Factors associated with P. jirovecii were assessed using univariate and multivariate analyses. P. jirovecii genotypes in infants and a control group of adults contemporaneously diagnosed with Pneumocystis pneumonia were identified using unilocus, bilocus, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). P. jirovecii was detected in 35 infants (18.2%). The univariate analysis pointed out four factors: viral infection (P =. 035, OR [IC 95], 2.2 [1.1-4.7]), lower respiratory tract infection (P =. 032, OR [IC 95], 2.5 [1.1-5.9]), absence of hospital discharge after birth (P =. 003, OR (IC 95), 0.1 (0.02-0.5]), and the 63-189-day group (P