P Carinii and Arthritis: Side Effects of Treatment

Sometimes even the best of intentions can go wrong, and the field of medicine is no exception. Conditions that have no business being related sometimes find a connection due to the type of medication administered. One example of this relationship is a pathogen known as P carinii and arthritis.

According to a case study conducted at the Rheumatology Department of the Teaching Hospital in Lille, France, P carinii or pneumocystis carinii, an organism or fungus that causes pneumonia, has been found to occur in patients with rheumatoid arthritis after they were given the drug methotrexate. Methotrexate is commonly prescribed by medical experts for the treatment of a skin disorder called psoriasis in addition to arthritis and other rheumatic diseases.

The study came up with some interesting findings. One was that the affected patients had acquired rheumatoid arthritis only recently. Another was that the majority of patients manifested lymphopenia or reduced lymphocytes. Also, the dosage and duration of therapy was different for most patients. The most tragic result was that a number of the patients died because of this connection between P carinii and arthritis. Evidently, more studies are needed to evaluate and prevent the side effects of drugs such as methotrexate and to avoid more loss of life.