Pneumocystis carinii in children with malignant disease

✍ Scribed by M. R. Sedaghatian; Don B. Singer

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1972
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 609 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(197203)29:3<772::aid-cncr2820290333>3.0.co;2-k

✦ Synopsis

Two hundred and sixty-seven children with cancer who were autopsied in Texas Children's Hospital, between 1954-1969, have been retrospectively studied for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Out of 267 cases, 15 patients (5.696) with Pneumocystis infection were found. The number varied from 0 to 3 cases in different years with no increase in Pneumocystis infection in the last few years in contrast with reports from other centers. Infection is usually extensive but may consist of a few isolated organisms without an associated inflammatory response. N A RECENT REPORT, JOHNSON ET A L . Z ~ FOUND

I an increasing incidence of Pneumocystis carinii infection among children with cancer, in part due to the prevalence of steroid and cytotoxic therapy in these patients. This study was undertaken to determine the incidence in this institution of Pneumocystis carirrii infection in common malignancies of childhood and to estimate the influence of steroid and antimetabolite therapy on such infection.

Methods

Autopsies from 267 patients with malignant disease at Texas Children's Hospital were reviewed. These cases were accumulated during a 16-year period (1954)(1955)(1956)(1957)(1958)(1959)(1960)(1961)(1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969). Included were 195 cases of leukemia, 25 cases of lymphoma, 29 cases of neuroblastoma, 8 cases of Wilms' tumor, 5 cases of Hodgkin's disease, and 5

From the