Case report: pneumonia caused by lophomonas

Abstract

Lophomonas are protozoans that inhabit the intestine of termites and roaches, remaining in the environment as cysts. Once in the human body, these pathogens can cause infections at the level of any organ. This disease is characterized as an opportunistic infection of which have been documented by kidney allograft transplantation, use of corticosteroids, cytotoxic hemotherapy, liver transplantation, allogeneic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells and infection with the human immunodeficiency virus. Because the mobile cilia could be easily identified as flagellated protozoa, it is considered that the bronchopulmonary samples should be submitted by trichrome stain, Pap smear and Giemsa stain as diagnostic test for pulmonary lophomoniasis. In this report of the clinical case, several immunosuppression factors such as pregnancy, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and systemic lupus erythematosus, which caused pulmonary lophomoniasis, are taken into account.