Spontaneous sputum examination for early diagnosis of pneumocystis carinii in Ugandan AIDS patients

ABSTRACT

Whereas Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is one of the major complications and causes of death in patients with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS); patients show that mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a commoner cause of HIV-associated pneumonia than PCP. Most methods used to diagnose PCP entail invasive and expensive techniques which are beyond the facilities available in developing countries. This study; was therefore designed to evaluate spontaneous sputum examination as a cheaper method for the diagnosis of PCP. Sputum specimens collected in 1987 from 54 AIDS Patients in Mulago Hospital were stained using a modified Gram stain and read by a competent technician. None of the 54 slides contained evidence of P.carinii. These results were consistent with other studies in Africa which show that PCP is rare among AIDS patients. However; because of lack of other definitive diagnostic evidence for the presence or absence of PCP; it was not possible to conclusively assess the usefulness of spontaneous sputum examination. Further studies are needed to determine the presence or absence of PCP among AIDS patients in Africa; and to evaluate cheaper and invasive diagnostic tools for developing countries