Low prevalence of Pneumocystis pneumonia in hospitalized patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: review of a clinical data warehouse. (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kapoor, T M; Mahadeshwar, P; Nguyen, S; Li, J; Kapoor, S; Bathon, J; Giles, J; Askanase, A
• Is Part Of: Lupus. Volume 26:Number 14(2017)
• Page Start: 1473
• Page End: 1482
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) -- Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia -- Pneumocystis jirovecii -- opportunistic infections -- electronic medical records database -- HIV; Systemic lupus erythematosus -- Periodicals; 616.772005
• DOI: 10.1177/0961203317703494
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0961-2033

Abstract

Objective: In the era of powerful immunosuppression, opportunistic infections are an increasing concern in systemic lupus erythematosus. One of the best-studied opportunistic infections is Pneumocystis pneumonia; however, the prevalence of Pneumocystis pneumonia in systemic lupus erythematosus is not clearly defined. This study evaluates the prevalence of Pneumocystis pneumonia in hospitalized systemic lupus erythematosus patients, with a focus on validating the Pneumocystis pneumonia and systemic lupus erythematosus diagnoses with clinical information. Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluates the prevalence of Pneumocystis pneumonia in all systemic lupus erythematosus patients treated at Columbia University Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital between January 2000 and September 2014, using electronic medical record data. Patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and patients with renal transplants (including both early and late post-transplant patients) represented immunocompromised control groups. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, Pneumocystis pneumonia, HIV/AIDS, or renal transplant were identified using diagnostic codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9). Results: Out of 2013 hospitalized systemic lupus erythematosus patients, nine had presumed Pneumocystis pneumonia, yielding a low prevalence of Pneumocystis pneumonia in systemic lupus erythematosus of 0.45%. Three of the nine Pneumocystis pneumonia cases were patients with concomitant systemic lupus erythematosus and HIV/AIDS. Only one of these nine cases was histologically confirmed as Pneumocystis pneumonia, in a patient with concomitant systemic lupus erythematosus and HIV/AIDS and a CD4 count of 13 cells/mm 3 . The prevalence of Pneumocystis pneumonia in renal transplant patients and HIV/AIDS patients was 0.61% and 5.98%, respectively. Conclusion: Given the reported high rate of adverse effects to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in systemic lupus erythematosus and the low prevalence of Pneumocystis pneumonia in hospitalized systemic lupus erythematosus patients, our data do not substantiate the need for Pneumocystis pneumonia prophylaxis in systemic lupus erythematosus patients, except in those with concurrent HIV/AIDS.