Cytomegalovirus peritonitis in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Summary Peritonitis has been reported infrequently in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Intestinal or colonic perforation resulting from cytomegalovirus (CMV) enteritis is the most common cause of peritonitis in these patients. We report a patient with CMV peritonitis occurring in the absence of perforation (primary peritonitis) to alert physicians to this potentially treatable disorder.     

Hyperviscosity syndrome in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

The hyperviscosity syndrome is most commonly seen in association with monoclonal gammopathies and has only rarely been described in association with polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia. We have recently seen a patient with known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who presented with the hyperviscosity syndrome in the setting of polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and the hyperviscosity syndrome. The case is presented and the pathogenesis and implications of this diagnosis are discussed.     

Rectal leishmaniasis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

A severe rectal lesion due to Leishmania infection is described in an American-born homosexual man with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The infection, which may have been venereally transmitted, responded to treatment with amphotericin B. There was no evidence of visceral leishmaniasis. The contribution of the patient's immunodeficiency to the development of the atypical cutaneous leishmanial lesion is unclear. The case may foretell increasing problems with protozoan infections in AIDS as the epidemic spreads to areas with endemic protozoan diseases.     

Disseminated strongyloidiasis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

We report a case of Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection in a Spanish patient who had never traveled to an endemic area and in whom HIV infection and long-term immunosuppressive treatment most likely contributed to the dissemination of strongyloidiasis.     

Pyomyositis in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Pyomyositis is an acute bacterial infection of skeletal muscle. It is a common disease in the tropics; fewer than 50 cases of pyomyositis have been reported in the continental United States. Most patients are healthy males, although the disease has been reported in diabetics and in the immunocompromised. This article presents the first detailed known reported case of pyomyositis in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Staphylococcus aureus was the etiologic agent.     

Generalised tuberculosis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

We describe a heroin addict who presented with cellular immunodeficiency, generalised tuberculosis, and pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis carinii, and discuss the risk of these associations.     

Parkinsonian symptoms as an initial manifestation in a Japanese patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and Toxoplasma infection

We studied a Japanese patient who developed parkinsonian symptoms over 3 months before the diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Brain MRI showed multiple lesions with mass effect and ring enhancement in the basal ganglia and subcortical white matter suggesting Toxoplasma infection. Anti-Toxoplasma therapy and highly active antiretroviral therapy for 6 months allowed improvement of parkinsonism, brain MRI findings, and immune system.     

Toxoplasma encephalitis in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Among 504 cases of AIDS diagnosed between 1983 and 1990, there were 86 patients (17%) with toxoplasma encephalitis (TE). All were symptomatic at the time of diagnosis. General signs such as fever, neck stiffness, or headache were present in 87.2%, and 75.6% had focal signs. The primary means of diagnosis was computerized tomographic scanning, revealing 169 lesions of which 80% were immediately contrast-enhancing. All patients had IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii either before (74 of 75 evaluable patients) or at the time of diagnosis of TE (73 of 75). Elevated antibody titers were present in 44% of evaluable patients, compared to 11% of patients with AIDS and other opportunistic infections. Initial treatment was pyrimethamine plus sulfonamides in 65 patients, and pyrimethamine plus clindamycin in 12 patients, with other combinations or no treatment accounting for the remainder. Life-table analysis of the time to discontinuation of treatment because of suspected side effects suggested that sulfadiazine was significantly more toxic, with 48% of patients experiencing an interruption in treatment after 30 days, than pyrimethamine (12%) or clindamycin (24%). The 30-day mortality rate was 12%, and median survival was 310 days after diagnosis, 530 in patients treated with zidovudine and 190 days in those not so treated. Of 82 evaluable patients, 16 relapsed once and 4 of these more than once. The risk of relapse was 27% 1 year after diagnosis of a first episode of TE.     

Acute tuberculous pancreatitis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

The authors report a case of tuberculous pancreatitis in a 29 year old Zairan man. Serum antibodies against HIV were positive. T-lymphocyte analysis revealed 18/mm3 OKT4 with an OKT4/OKT8 ratio of 0.43. The initial examination suggested severe acute pancreatitis. Only the postmortem histopathological analysis revealed tuberculous pancreatitis, showing several miliary lesions with caseous necrosis and acid fast bacili (Ziehl stain). Subsequently, cultures (sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage, pleural effusion, ascitis) of bacili identified Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculous pancreatitis should be considered in subjects with acute pancreatitis according to the epidemiological context, once the most frequent causes of pancreatitis have been eliminated.     

Isolated pulmonary lymphoma in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

We report the case of a male patient with AIDS who had been hospitalized for various opportunistic infections, from which he recovered, and was readmitted on account of a round opacity in the lower lobe of his right lung. There was no evidence of extrapulmonary pathology. Transtracheal aspiration, alveolar lavage and transbronchial biopsy failed to identify the lesion. Lung biopsy after thoracotomy resulted in a diagnosis of malignant lymphoma type B with anti-IgA and anti-kappa antibodies. Despite chemotherapy the patient died within one month, the lymphoma having spread to both lungs.     

Widespread cytomegalovirus gastroenterocolitis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

This case report documents extensive gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus infection in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, presenting as diarrhea and involving stomach, duodenum, and colon. Endoscopic biopsy specimens and cultures were essential to make the diagnosis and to distinguish the illness from inflammatory bowel disease. A careful search for other potential pathogens was made as well. The discussion includes a review of literature regarding cytomegalovirus involvement of the gastrointestinal tract.