Advances in the diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

There has been a dramatic improvement in the ability to diagnose P. carinii pneumonia since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. Currently at the NIH over 90% of patients with P. carinii pneumonia can be diagnosed within a few hours of presentation by examination of an induced sputum specimen. Improved diagnosis has led to earlier initiation of therapy and an improvement in survival. However, as clinical management of AIDS patients improves, it is possible that there will be a change in the clinical presentation of P. carinii pneumonia, with an associated increased difficulty in making the correct diagnosis.