Forum on Opportunistic Infections: Lung damage from PCP

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		Lung damage from PCP Dec 14, 2003 My brother was admitted to the hospital with pcp. After 3 weeks he has beaten the pneumonia but he can not sustain enough oxygen on his own to get off of the ventilator. The doctors are now going to put a trach tube in him. Will his lungs return to some normalcy or is this all that we can expect? This is his first time to contact PCP.


		Response from Dr. Conway It's too early to say what will happen. At this stage, what is preventing your brother from getting better is the damage that was done to his lungs as a result of the body's response to the PCP, and perhaps other factors (such as a secondary infection that may have occurred as a result of the treatment used for the PCP). The reason to put in a tracheostomy tube is to make it easier for the staff to take care of him and to eliminate the complications that may occur for an endotracheal tube.

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