Positive Pneumocystis jirovecii Sputum PCR Results with Negative Bronchoscopic PCR Results in Suspected Pneumocystis Pneumonia

Figure 1

P. Jirovecii-PCR samples collected at Mayo Clinic from January 2011 to August 2016. PCR = polymerase chain reaction; BAL = bronchoalveolar lavage; one patient had a total of 5 BAL PCP-PCR samples collected over a 28-day time period. The first sample was positive with the subsequent 4 samples collected from the same area reported as negative. Another patient with a positive PCP-PCR on lung biopsy and BAL had a subsequent negative PCP-PCR result on another lung biopsy sample from a different site. The third additional patient with discordant samples had a positive PCP-PCR collected on BAL from the right middle lobe and a positive PCP-PCR on the sputum sample; however, BAL from the right middle lobe collected 5 days later was negative.