A 62-year-old man on ICU has severe community-acquired pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation. The microbiology team advises adding IV co-trimoxaz...

Question

A 62-year-old man on ICU has severe community-acquired pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation. The microbiology team advises adding IV co-trimoxazole to cover Pneumocystis jirovecii as part of the differential diagnosis. What blood test, if elevated, would strongly support PCP as the diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

Serum beta-D-glucan - a fungal cell wall component that is elevated in PCP (sensitivity ~90-95%) and can be used as an adjunctive diagnostic marker

Answer

CRP

Answer

WCC

Answer

Procalcitonin

Answer

Ferritin

uk-fficm MCQ (SBA): PCP Diagnosis - Beta-D-Glucan

A 62-year-old man on ICU has severe community-acquired pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation. The microbiology team advises adding IV co-trimoxazole to cover Pneumocystis jirovecii as part of the differential diagnosis. What blood test, if elevated, would strongly support PCP as the diagnosis?