Respiratory infection in an HIV-infected patient: COVID-19 or pneumocystosis?: Case report

Abstract

Opportunistic infections in immunocompromised HIV patients have for years been the main cause of mortality in this population, such as pneumonia caused by the fungus Pneumocystis jiroveci. SARS-CoV-2 infection is the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, many patients who had a clinical similar to COVID-19 sought medical attention and that particular diagnosis was attributed to all of them. Given this situation, in many cases it was suspected that the patients had an infection by SARS-CoV-2, resulting in incorrect in-hospital treatment and measures. We present the case of an HIV-infected male who presented with pneumonia associated with probable COVID-19 or P. jirovecii infection. The aim of this case report is to establish the differences between SARS-CoV-2 and P. jirovecii pneumonia.