Molecular prevalence of Pneumocystis jirovecii and Cryptosporidium in patients with asthma.

Asthma is characterized by chronic airway inflammation. In addition to allergens, microorganisms can affect the clinical course of asthma. It has been shown that some fungi play an important role in the progression of asthma. However, the effects of Pneumocystis jirovecii and Cryptosporidium spp., on the disease are little known. We investigated P. jirovecii and Cryptosporidium spp. in the sputum and stool sample of patients with asthma (n = 40) by microscopy and PCR compared to the healthy group (n = 40). P. jirovecii (12.5 %), and Cryptosporidium spp. (12.5 %) were detected in the sputum samples of only asthmatic patients (p = 0.029 and 0.029 respectively). However, Crpytosporidium spp. was detected equally in stool samples of both groups (p = 0.682). Our results indicate that P. jirovecii and Cryptosporidium spp. should be considered in patients with asthma and molecular screening of these neglected eukaryotes in respiratory tract samples may be beneficial in the clinical management of the disease.

Comparison of chest computed tomography and 3-T magnetic resonance imaging results in patients with common variable immunodeficiency.

BACKGROUND: Patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) have an increased incidence of pulmonary infections and require frequent follow-up computed tomography (CT) scans. PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with CVID. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective study, 3-T MRI was performed in 20 patients with CVID. The patients were imaged with CT and MRI scans on the same day. The MRI protocol included a T2-weighted HASTE sequence (TR=1400 ms, TE=95 ms, slice thickness (ST)=3 mm), T2-weighted BLADE sequence (TR=5379 ms, TE=100 ms, ST=3 mm), and 3D VIBE sequence (TR=3.9 ms, TE=1.32 ms, ST=3 mm). Mediastinal and parenchymal changes were compared. A modified Bhalla scoring system was used in the evaluation of CT and MRI scans. RESULTS: A total of 17 (85%) patients had parenchymal abnormalities identified by CT or MRI. Similar findings were detected with CT and MRI in the assessment of the severity of bronchiectasis (P=0.083), bronchial wall thickening (P=0.157), and mucus plugging (P=0.250). Consolidations were detected with both modalities in all patients. There was excellent concordance between the two modalities in the evaluation of nodules >5 mm (nodule size 5-10 mm, P=0.317; nodule size >10 mm, P=1). However, MRI failed to detect most of the small nodules (<5 mm). CONCLUSION: 3-T MRI detected mediastinal and parenchymal alterations in patients with CVID and provided findings that correlated well with CT. Despite a few limitations, MRI is a well-suited radiation-free technique for patients requiring longitudinal imaging.