Images in Clinical Medicine
Kim Eagle, M.D., Editor
Pneumocystic Abscesses of the Spleen
N Engl J Med 1993; 328:1542May 27, 1993
- Article
Figure 1 Pneumocystic Abscesses of the Spleen.
A computed tomographic scan of the spleen in an adult infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, who had a recurrence of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia despite secondary prophylaxis with aerosolized pentamidine, shows abscesses characteristic of extrapulmonary pneumocystosis. Any type of pyogenic or parasitic abscess can have a similar appearance. Ultrasound-guided needle aspiration of the spleen demonstrated cysts of P. carinii. A second scan, obtained after several months of daily therapy with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, showed marked diminution of the cysts.
Kim Eagle, M.D.
Michael Landor, M.D.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461
