Severe pneumonia in an idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia patient: case report and review of the literature.

Introduction: When diagnosing pneumonia (PJP), the clinical suspicion must be confirmed by laboratory tests. PJP is rarely described in patients with idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia (ICL), a rare T-cell deficiency of unknown origin with persistently low levels of CD4 T-cells (<300 µl or <20 % of total lymphocytes) but repeated negative human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests. We retrospectively analysed a case of an ICL patient with severe PJP associated with multiple opportunistic infections (OIs).

Characteristic and clinical relevance of Candida mannan test in the diagnosis of probable invasive candidiasis.

The gold standard laboratory tests used to diagnose invasive Candida infection (ICI) are based on the in vitro culture of blood or samples from other sterile sites. However, these tests have limited sensitivity (Se) and are generally not diagnostic until late in the infectious process. The Serion Candida mannan kit was evaluated for the diagnosis of ICI at Grenoble University Hospital (France) between 2007 and 2011.

Characteristics and clinical relevance of the quantitative touch-down major surface glycoprotein polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia.

The evaluation of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) characteristics can increase the accuracy of the laboratory diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). Between July 2008 and September 2009, 66 non-sequential prospective bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples, obtained from five HIV-infected and 49 non HIV-infected patients were investigated, using a quantitative-touch-down-PCR to determine the number of copies of major surface glycoprotein (MSG) genes of Pneumocystis jirovecii (q-TD-MSG-PCR). PCP was confirmed by microscopic observation of Pneumocystis, radio-clinical and therapeutic data in 18/54 patients.

Contribution of anti-Hsp70.1 IgG antibody levels to the diagnostic certainty of clinically suspected ocular toxoplasmosis.

Purpose: Laboratory diagnosis of ocular toxoplasmosis, the major cause of posterior uveitis worldwide, can be improved. Heat shock protein (Hsp) 70 is involved in cellular infection by Toxoplasma gondii but also in the immune response to this parasite. The authors postulate that infected patients may exhibit serum IgG anti-Hsp70.