Successful Treatment ofPneumocystis cariniiPneumonitis in a Patient with Congenital Hypogammaglobulinemia

PNEUMOCYSTIS CARINII is established as a pathogen for the susceptible human host1 and in the laboratory animal2 and is the etiologic agent of the clinical entity known as pneumocystis or "plasma-cell" pneumonia. Definitive diagnosis of this infectious disease is rarely made ante mortem. The inability to cultivate the organism in vitro and the difficulty in demonstrating its presence ante mortem in body fluids have contributed to this diagnostic problem. Until recently, no treatment of the infection had been successful,3 , 4 and the disease has been uniformly fatal. Introduction of pentamidine isothionate as a chemotherapeutic agent that may permit successful treatment for . . .