Pneumocystis Transmission in a U.S. Transplant Clinic

Nineteen cases were diagnosed among renal transplant recipients at a single clinic over a 1-year period.

Human-to-human transmission of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) has been reported among heart, liver, and renal transplant recipients, but all outside the United States; it has also been reported among patients with HIV-1 infection. In this report from a single U.S. renal transplant center, 19 cases of PJP were identified between July 2019 and May 2020, compared with 4 during the previous 7 years.

Eleven of the 19 patients received calcineurin inhibitors for chronic immunosuppression, and 8 received belatacept, a monoclonal antibody directed against cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4). Median time to PJP onset after renal transplantation was 79 months. None of the patients were on PJP prophylaxis at the time of diagnos…

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Pneumocystis Transmission in a U.S. Transplant Clinic

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Reviewing Author