Diagnosis and treatment of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia after renal transplantation: a report of 20 cases / 中华器官移植杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of pneumocystis jirovecii pneumoniae (PJP) after renal transplantation.Methods:A total of 20 PJP patients were selected from January 2018 to January 2020. The major symptoms included fever, chest tightness, dyspnea and cough with minimal sputum. Chest computed tomography (CT), laboratory tests and metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of bronchoscopic pulmonary alveolar perfusion fluid (BALF) were performed. They received cotrimoxazole (SMZ 18.75-25 mg/kg + TMP 3.75-5 mg/kg q6 h) and basic regimen of caspofungin (50-70 mg/d) for 14-21 days. At the same time, bacterial, fungal or viral infections were treated, immunosuppressants were tapered or discontinued, supportive therapy and methylprednisolone, immunoglobulin and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) were provided. Chest CT examination was performed for 5-7 days to evaluate the therapeutic effect and clinical data were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Among them, fever was predominant in 13 cases with an average body temperature of (38.8±0.68) ℃ while chest tightness and dyspnea occurred in 7 cases. Fourteen patients presented hypoxemia, 13 received non-invasive ventilator assisted breathing, 1 received mechanical ventilation via endotracheal intubation and the remainders received mask oxygen therapy. Seventeen patients were cured and discharged from hospital for 12~90 days. Three patients died of respiratory and circulatory failures due to deteriorating pulmonary infection. And 19 patients had elevated renal function initially and basically normalized around 2 weeks.Conclusions:PJP is one of the most serious complications after renal transplantation. Timely diagnosis and targeted treatment are essential. And mNGS examination plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of PJP. The basic anti-infective scheme of compound sulfamethoxazole plus carbophennet is efficacious. At the same time, appropriate tapering or discontinuation of immunosuppressants, supportive therapy and assisted respiration are also important.