Sunday, February 6, 2011
Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia
P.carinii, the cause of PCP, usually is classified as a protozoan, although some investigators consider it more closely related to fungi. The organism exists as a saprophyte in the lungs of humans and various animals.P.carinii is part of the normal flora in most healthy people but becomes an aggressive pathogen in the immunocompromised patient. Impaired cellmediated (T-cell) immunity is thought to be more important than impaired humoral (B-cell) immunity in predisposing the patient to PCP,
