<i>Pneumocystis jirovecii</i> Colonization in Mexican Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

The prevalence of colonization by <i>Pneumocystis jirovecii</i> (<i>P. jirovecii</i>) has not been studied in Mexico. We aimed to determine the prevalence of colonization by <i>P. jirovecii</i> using molecular detection in a population of Mexican patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and describe their clinical and sociodemographic profiles. We enrolled patients discharged from our hospital diagnosed with COPD and without pneumonia (<i>n</i> = 15). The primary outcome of this study was <i>P. jirovecii</i> colonization at the time of discharge, as detected by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of oropharyngeal wash samples. The calculated prevalence of colonization for our study group was 26.66%. There were no statistically significant differences between COPD patients with and without colonization in our groups. Colonization of <i>P. jirovecii</i> in patients with COPD is frequent in the Mexican population; the clinical significance, if any, remains to be determined. Oropharyngeal wash and nested PCR are excellent cost-effective options to simplify sample collection and detection in developing countries and can be used for further studies.