Respiratory distress caused by parasites

Parasitic etiologies of pulmonary symptoms generally represent some degree of immunocompromise or occur as uncommon presentations of common parasitic infections. In regions where HIV infection is more prominent, PCP probably will be the most common parasitic respiratory disease seen. In geographic regions where helminthic infections are more common, patients with respiratory symptoms and eosinophilia probably will be seen more often and require a search for a specific etiology. In more rare circumstances, travel to an endemic area may suggest a more exotic parasitic etiology for respiratory symptoms.