Not COVID-19, Don't Overlook Pneumocystis in Patients on Gefitinib!
Jeremy BarbenValérie QuipourtJérémie VovelleAlain PutotPatrick ManckoundiaPublished in: Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) (2021)
An 82-year-old woman treated for advanced lung cancer with gefitinb was admitted to the emergency unit complaining of dyspnea. Chest computed tomography found abnormalities classified as possible diffuse COVID-19 pneumonia. RT-PCR for Sars-Cov-2 was twice negative. PCR for Pneumocystis jirovecii was positive on bronchoalveolar lavage. The final diagnosis was Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. Therefore, physicians must be careful not to misdiagnose COVID-19, especially in cancer patients on small-molecule therapeutics like gefitinib and corticosteroids.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- small molecule
- coronavirus disease
- computed tomography
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- small cell lung cancer
- end stage renal disease
- newly diagnosed
- primary care
- ejection fraction
- epidermal growth factor receptor
- chronic kidney disease
- emergency department
- prognostic factors
- magnetic resonance imaging
- positron emission tomography
- peritoneal dialysis
- patient reported outcomes
- protein protein
- tyrosine kinase
- low grade
- real time pcr