DOI: 10.12890/2020_001862

Rare Presentation of Toxoplasma Pneumonitis in the Absence of Neurological Symptoms in an AIDS Patient and Use of Next-Generation Sequencing for Diagnosis

Authors

  • Moni Roy Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria, Illinois AND OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois
  • Nikhut Siddique Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria, Illinois, USA
  • Bindu Bathina Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria, Illinois AND OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois
  • Sharjeel Ahmad Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria, Illinois, USA

mroy27@uic.edu

Keywords

Disseminated toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma pneumonitis, next-generation sequencing, HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a known cause of encephalitis in human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patients. Toxoplasma pneumonitis is a manifestation of extracerebral toxoplasmosis and can be clinically indistinguishable from other opportunistic infections including Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) and miliary tuberculosis. In this case report, Toxoplasma pneumonitis and disseminated toxoplasmosis was diagnosed using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assessment. NGS can detect microbial cell-free DNA (cfDNA) circulating in the plasma of over 1,000 pathogens. This case is a rare presentation of Toxoplasma pneumonitis in the absence of neurological symptoms and we discuss the use of NGS of microbial cfDNA and PCR tests that may be utilized for the timely diagnosis of such challenging cases.

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References

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Published

2020-09-04

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 11 (2020)

How to Cite

1.
Roy M, Siddique N, Bathina B, Ahmad S. Rare Presentation of Toxoplasma Pneumonitis in the Absence of Neurological Symptoms in an AIDS Patient and Use of Next-Generation Sequencing for Diagnosis. EJCRIM [Internet]. 2020 Sep. 4 [cited 2026 Nov. 3];7(11). Available from: https://ejcrim.com/index.php/ejcrim/article/view/1862

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