{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T00:33:14Z","timestamp":1772152394147,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,6]],"date-time":"2023-04-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1680739200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Early detection of <jats:italic>Pneumocystis jirovecii<\/jats:italic> as an opportunistic pathogen that may endanger predisposed persons, including COVID-19 patients, may help to choose the optimal management.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>In this study, 585, including 530 COVID-19 patients, with clinical and radiological evidence of respiratory diseases, were investigated for <jats:italic>P. jirovecii<\/jats:italic> screening. Clinical specimens were examined by direct microscopy and PCR, and randomly selected positive PCR products were confirmed through DNA sequence analysis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Thirty-one (5.3%) samples were positive in <jats:italic>P. jirovecii<\/jats:italic>-specific nested-PCR, while by direct microscopic tests, <jats:italic>Pneumocystis<\/jats:italic> was observed in 22 (3.76%) samples. Males (61.7%) and patients over 50 years old (75.6%) were more commonly affected than others, and malaise and fatigue (84%), and wheezing (75%) were the most common symptoms, followed by fever (40.48%) and dyspnea (39.51%). Among the Pneumocystis-positive patients, three cases had coinfection with <jats:italic>Aspergillus fumigatus<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>A. flavus<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>A. niger<\/jats:italic> (each <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 1), as documented by direct microscopy, culture, and species identification by PCR-sequencing.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Pneumocystis pneumonia is still a diagnostic challenge; therefore, additional large-scale studies are needed to clarify the epidemiology of the disease in immunocompromised or COVID-19 patients.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2023.1148320","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,6]],"date-time":"2023-04-06T05:26:20Z","timestamp":1680758780000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Molecular and microscopy detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii in hospitalized patients 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