Chemotherapy for osteoarticular tuberculosis

Chemotherapy for tuberculosis in general and osteoarticular tuberculosis in particular poses certain peculiar problems that include chronicity of infection, infection by resistant mycobacteria, persistent mycobacteria, possibility of concomitant human immunodeficiency virus infection, and drug toxicity during prolonged treatment. Although the success rate of chemotherapy is greater than 90% with optimum drug combination regimens currently used, there is a need for additional improvement. A successful outcome depends on using an optimum regimen, which contains safer and more effective drugs given regularly for an adequate period. The most important cause of treatment failure is poor patient compliance, which can be improved by using supervised drug treatment programs. In a few patients, surgical removal of infected tissue may be indicated to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. In the future, safer and more effective antimycobacterial and anti-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome drugs may become available. Research in various related fields also is expected to additionally improve prophylaxis and treatment.     

Mycobacterial infection in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

Of 207 homosexual or bisexual patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), 24 with the AIDS related complex, and 39 with asymptomatic HIV infection, 32 patients were found to have mycobacterial infection. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was found in 13 patients with AIDS and in two with the AIDS related complex. M avium-intracellulare was found in 15 patients with AIDS and was disseminated in 12. One patient was infected with M kansasii and one with M ulcerans. Invasive procedures were frequently required to obtain positive bacteriological results. Subclinical carriage of M avium-intracellulare and other mycobacteria thought to be nonpathogenic was common in patients seronegative for the human immunodeficiency virus and at all stages of human immunodeficiency virus infection. All but one isolate of M tuberculosis were fully sensitive to standard antimycobacterial antibiotics. Response to treatment was usually rapid. M avium-intracellulare isolates were all resistant to first line agents in vitro, and antibiotics such as ansamycin and amikacin were required to obtain a clinical response.     

Elbow tuberculosis: an unusual location and diagnostic problem

Tuberculous arthritis of the elbow joint is not commonly seen by orthopaedic physicians. In the past 20 years, with the pandemic of the human immunodeficiency virus and the increase in immunocompromised people, we have observed a resurgence of tuberculosis. Osteoarticular involvement has increased, too. Spinal and monoarthritis of weight-bearing joints such as the hip or knee are most frequently involved. The elbow joint is an uncommon location of osteoarticular tuberculosis. The aim of this case report is to describe a case of tuberculous arthritis of the elbow and the diagnostic problems that may arise and lead to a delay in treatment.     

Disseminated kidney tuberculosis complicating autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: a case report

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is rare, and its diagnosis and treatment are difficult because numerous cysts are exposed to infection and antibiotics do not easily penetrate infected cysts. Here, we report the case of a 43-year-old Japanese man with disseminated urogenital tuberculosis (TB) and ADPKD without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Delayed diagnosis and ineffective anti-TB chemotherapy worsened his condition. Finally, he underwent bilateral nephrectomy but experienced postoperative complications. In conclusion, kidney TB should be recognized as a cause of renal infection in ADPKD, and surgical treatment should be instituted without delay. The importance of early diagnosis and treatment cannot be overemphasized to prevent kidney TB deterioration.     

Tuberculosis and HIV: estimates of the overlap in England and Wales.

BACKGROUND: A study was designed to determine the extent of the interaction between tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infection in England and Wales. METHODS: Data were obtained from the United Kingdom national AIDS surveillance and the Medical Research Council tuberculosis notification surveys in England and Wales (1983 and 1988). The proportion of patients reported with AIDS known to have had tuberculosis and the proportion of patients notified with tuberculosis known to have HIV infection were estimated. RESULTS: Of the 4360 patients with AIDS reported by 30 June 1991, 200 (4.6%) were in patients reported to have had tuberculosis. Only one of the 3002 patients (0.03%) reported in the 1983 survey of tuberculosis notifications in England and Wales was known to be infected with HIV compared with nine of 2163 patients (0.42%) in the 1988 survey. CONCLUSION: Although the reported number of cases of HIV infection with tuberculosis in this country is increasing it remains small. Complete reporting of cases of AIDS and notification of cases of tuberculosis are essential to enable the two infections to be monitored as the HIV epidemic develops. Special studies, such as those reported here, will need to be undertaken regularly to assess the future extent of the interaction.     

The implications of HIV for the anaesthetist and the intensivist

The acquired immune deficiency syndrome has reached pandemic proportions. Anaesthetists should be aware of the implications of dealing with increasing numbers of both diagnosed and undiagnosed, symptomatic and asymptomatic, human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in the fields of intensive therapy, operating theatre anaesthesia, obstetrics and pain management. With recent advances, important insights have been gained into the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus. Molecular techniques allow quantification of viral burden, and together with CD4 T-lymphocyte count, prognosis and response to therapy can be evaluated. New drugs and therapeutic regimens have improved prognosis for those who are infected with the virus and vertical transmission of infection from mother to infant can be minimised. Should accidental occupational exposure to the virus occur, a prophylactic regimen of antiretroviral drugs can be administered in an attempt to prevent subsequent human immunodeficiency virus infection.     

Tuberculous osteomyelitis of the knee: a case report

Introduction: With the resurge of tuberculosis, due to the pandemic of the human immunodeficiency virus and the increase in the number of immunocompromised patients, osteoarticular tuberculosis has increased too. Materials and methods: We report of a 55-year-old patient, with chronic renal failure on haemodialysis, who presented with a painful knee and fever. Culture on Lowënstein–Jensen medium of joint liquid revealed a tuberculous affectation of the proximal tibia. Wide excision was performed, completed with 9 months of tuberculostatic drugs. At 1 year follow-up, the patient was free of symptoms. Conclusion: Tuberculous aetiology should be considered in the differential diagnosis of knee arthritis.     

HIV and cerebral aneurysms

Patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or suffering from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are now surviving for longer periods of time secondary to improvements in medical management. As the classical causes of morbidity and mortality in this patient population have come under better control, new complications are becoming more prevalent. In our clinical practice, there appears to have been a rise in the number of patients with HIV infection and AIDS who have experienced aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). In this paper, we review the available literature regarding cerebral aneurysms in patients infected with HIV and/or suffering from AIDS.     

AIDS and tuberculosis

The diagnostic and therapeutic implications of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and tuberculosis in South Africa, where tuberculosis remains a major health problem, are reviewed. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a high-grade pathogen and is able to establish infection early in immunodeficiency. With HIV infection showing significant entry into the heterosexual population in the RSA, an increasing number of cases with both infections can be expected to occur. The radiological appearance in combined infection is variable, ranging from a formal cavitatory picture to the more common finding of diffuse pulmonary infiltration. Intrathoracic adenopathy is a more specific sign of tuberculosis in HIV infection, since it is not associated with persistent generalised lymphadenopathy and pulmonary opportunistic infections, such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Intercurrent pneumonic infections and other pulmonary manifestations of HIV disease render the interpretation of new infiltrates on chest radiography problematical. Tuberculin skin testing remains useful in HIV infection and should be performed in all HIV-infected patients. The value of tuberculosis serology still remains questionable. Standard antituberculosis drug regimens are effective, but maintenance treatment must be continued for life and should include isoniazid and rifampicin. BCG vaccination is recommended routinely at birth in infants with HIV infection and for asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals who have not previously been immunised.     

Clinical outcome of HIV positive patients with moderate to severe burns

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a world wide and growing problem. Little is found in the literature concerning the treatment and outcome of patients suffering from HIV infection who are treated for burns. The aim of this study was to assess whether the outcome of HIV positive patients suffering from burn wounds differed from those who do not have HIV infection. Thirty three patients formed the HIV positive study group. HIV negative controls were matched for age, degree of burns, sex and inhalation injury. The mean age of the patients was 31.6 years and the mean total body surface burn was 26.4%. There was no significant difference in the outcome of the two groups in terms of mortality or treatment parameters measured. Two patients had stigmata of AIDS (tuberculosis) and both died. One patient, with a CD4 count of 228, developed severe necrotizing fasciitis. In keeping with other studies looking at the outcome of HIV positive patients in an Intensive Care Unit setting, we concluded that a HIV positive patient, who suffers from a burn wound and has no stigmata of AIDS, should be treated similarly to a HIV negative patient.     

Prevention of lung infections associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Current evidence indicates that the length of survival for patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is increasing, thereby affording a greater opportunity for strategies designed to prevent the infectious diseases that mark the syndrome. Because these infections may occur at different stages of immunosuppression caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), effective application of preventive measures depends not only on detection of HIV infection but also on the use of staging indicators. The diseases that serve to define AIDS, such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, tend to occur late in the course of HIV infection and often when the T helper lymphocyte (CD4+ cells) count is less than 0.2 x 10(9)/l. Other infections, such as tuberculosis and pyogenic bacterial pneumonia, may develop at any point after HIV infection has occurred. Given this relation between the degree of immunosuppression and the occurrence of particular pulmonary infections, different preventive interventions should be applied at different times. It is now known that the incidence of several of the pulmonary infections that are common in patients with HIV infection can be reduced by prophylactic measures. Pneumocystis pneumonia is decreased in frequency by any one of several prophylactic agents, the best established being pentamidine administered as an inhaled aerosol. The role of isoniazid in the chemoprophylaxis of tuberculosis in patients not infected with HIV is well established. Although there is little evidence of benefit so far from isoniazid in HIV infected patients with a positive tuberculin skin test response, it is logical to assume that there could be some effect. The use of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine may also be of some benefit in reducing the frequency of pneumococcal pneumonia in patients with AIDS. In addition to these specific measures, the antiretroviral agent zidovudine decreases both the frequency and the severity of opportunist infections, at least during the first few months of treatment. A comprehensive strategy for prevention of HIV associated lung infection first requires detection of HIV seropositivity, staging the immunosuppression by the CD4+ cell count, and determining whether tuberculous infection is present by a tuberculin skin test. All seropositive individuals should be given pneumococcal vaccine and those with evidence of tuberculosis infection should be treated with isoniazid for one year. Zidovudine should probably be started when CD4+ cell counts are in the range 0.4-0.5 x 10(9)/l and prophylaxis against pneumocystis infection when CD4+ cell counts are in the range 0.2-0.3 x 10(9)/l.     

Increased frequency of infection after open reduction of fractures in patients who are seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus

In a prospective study of 214 patients who had elective extensive operations for fractures, we compared the relative frequencies of postoperative infections in the seventeen patients who were seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus and had associated clinical symptoms, in the twenty-six patients who were seropositive and had no associated clinical symptoms, and in the 171 patients who were seronegative. The relative frequency of postoperative infection was significantly higher in patients who were seropositive and had associated clinical symptoms (four of seventeen) than in patients who were seronegative (eight of 171) (Fisher exact test, p = 0.01). In all patients who were seropositive and had a postoperative bacterial infection, treatment with antibiotics was effective. The results of this study suggest that people who are seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus and have associated symptoms are at increased risk for postoperative infection.     

General principles of osteoarticular tuberculosis

Since approximately 1985, with the pandemic of the human immunodeficiency virus and with the increase in the number of people who are immunocompromised, there is a resurgence of tuberculosis worldwide. The diagnosis in endemic areas generally can be made on clinical and radiologic examinations. However, whenever there is doubt because of an atypical clinical presentation or lack of clinical exposure, tissue diagnosis is mandatory. If osteoarticular tuberculosis is diagnosed and treated at an early stage, approximately 90% to 95% of patients would achieve healing with near normal function. The mainstay of treatment is multidrug antituberculous chemotherapy (for 12 to 18 months) and active - assisted non-weightbearing exercises of the involved joint throughout the period of healing. Operative intervention is required when the patient is not responding after 4 to 5 months of chemotherapy (synovectomy and debridement), the therapeutic outcome is not satisfactory (excisional arthroplasty for the hip or the elbow), or the healed status has resulted in a painful ankylosis (arthrodesis for the ankle, the wrist, or the knee). Joint replacement may be considered if the disease has remained inactive for 10 years or more. Multidrug resistance should be suspected if the activity of disease does not subside after 4 to 6 months of uninterrupted multidrug therapy. Such patients (5% to 10%) present a desperate therapeutic challenge. Second-line and potential antitubercular drugs, and possible immunomodulations may control such a disease.     

AIDS and the lung. Introduction.

Damage to the immune system induced by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leads to a spectrum of opportunistic infections of which the lung is the most common site. In Europe and North America, pneumocystis carinii pneumonia is the presenting symptom in 64% of cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and occurs at some point in 80% of AIDS victims. This infection is less common in Africa, where tuberculosis is the predominant opportunistic infection. Other AIDS-related lung infections that are gaining in prevalence include pneumonia due to pyogenic bacteria, pulmonary infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and lymphoid interstitial pneumonitis. In addition, there is evidence that the lung may be extensively involved in Kaposi's sarcoma. Given the importance of the lung as a site for AIDS-related opportunistic infections, respiratory physicians will be required to become more involved in the diagnosis and management of AIDS cases.     

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis in a patient with septic shock

A 61-year-old woman who was negative for type 1 human immunodeficiency virus developed vertebral osteomyelitis and skin lesions due to sepsis by Staphylococcus aureus. Microscopic examination of the skin showed alcohol-resistant acid-fast bacilli. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for Mycobacterium tuberculosis was positive for skin and spinal samples, although the cultures were negative. The diagnosis of M. tuberculosis infection is difficult, particularly when the disease is extrapulmonary. Rapid diagnostic tests that use PCR identify the DNA of the bacillus with greater sensitivity than microscopic examination and can give results within 24 hours of receipt of a sample. We analyze the utility of PCR for diagnosing extrapulmonary tuberculosis.     

Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, with or without the diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or AIDS-related complex (ARC), have an increased incidence of tuberculosis, especially of an extrapulmonary nature. The condition is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The reported incidence of the combination of tuberculosis and AIDS varies between 4% and 10% of AIDS patients, with a higher incidence noted in the male, inner-city, intravenous-drug-abuser population. Clinical findings may reflect the site of infection, but are often nondiagnostic. Diagnosis often requires biopsy for histopathologic evaluation and tissue culture to document the presence of granulomas and mycobacterial organisms. Universal body fluid precautions among these patients are mandatory, and respiratory isolation should be maintained during diagnostic evaluation and early treatment. These patients usually respond to standard antituberculosis therapy. Physicians should maintain a high index of suspicion of tuberculosis in patients with HIV infection. Conversely, the diagnosis of HIV infection should be considered in patients with unusual manifestations of tuberculosis. Because tuberculosis is one of the few potentially curable infections in the AIDS patient, recognition of its presence is crucial.     

Tuberculous orchiepididymitis as clinical onset of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection

The emergence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome has changed the natural history of tuberculosis which has now become the second most common infection associated to human immunodeficiency virus infection. It is only rarely that a tuberculous infection has an urogenital location, and extrapulmonary locations are generally related to severe immunosuppression. This paper presents one case of tuberculous orchitis that presented as the clinical onset of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Discussion of the clinical evolution and the therapeutic approach that consisted in orchiectomy associated to treatment with tuberculostatics.     

Human Herpesvirus 8–Related Primary Effusion Lymphoma After Liver Transplantation

Primary effusion lymphoma is a rare subclass of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma associated with human herpesvirus 8 infection and principally seen in human immunodeficiency virus–positive patients. We report on the case of a 72‐year‐old human immunodeficiency virus–negative male with a hepatic transplant 10 years prior, who presented with a symptomatic right‐sided pleural effusion and was found to have primary effusion lymphoma by flow cytometric and cytopathologic examination. Immunohistochemistry of his lymphoma cells was positive for human herpesvirus 8. Both he and his donor had no identifiable risk factors for human herpesvirus 8 infection. The patient was intolerant of antiviral therapy and chemotherapy, dying 7 months after diagnosis. Posttransplant primary effusion lymphoma is exceedingly rare and carries a very poor prognosis. Individualized treatment strategies are necessary given the scant body of published literature with guidance based solely on case reports.     

结核感染T细胞斑点试验在骨与关节结核诊断中的价值

目的探讨结核感染T细胞斑点试验(T-SPOT TB)在临床诊断骨与关节结核的应用价值。方法收集154例疑似骨与关节结核患者外周抗凝血标本,依据细菌学检验、病理学结果及临床表现判定有无结核分枝杆菌感染;其中确诊骨与关节结核73例,非结核感染81例,分别进行T-SPOT TB和结核抗体(TB-Ab)检测,并分析T-SPOT TB在骨与关节结核诊断中的敏感度和特异度。结果 73例确诊骨与关节结核中,64例T-SPOT TB阳性;81例非结核中,72例T-SPOT TB阴性;T-SPOT TB检测敏感度为87.67%(64/73),TB-Ab为41.10%(30/73),T-SPOT TB诊断骨与关节结核的敏感度显著高于TB-Ab(P0.001);T-SPOT TB检测特异度为88.89%(72/81),TB-Ab为71.60%(58/81),T-SPOT TB特异度也高于TB-Ab(P=0.006)。在结核组中,涂阳与涂阴两组T-SPOT TB阳性检出率分别为95.45%(21/22)及86.49%(32/37),差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。在结核组中,病理诊断阳性率92.16%(47/51)与T-SPOT TB总阳性率87.67%(64/73)比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论 T-SPOT TB在诊断骨与关节结核中具有良好的敏感度和特异度,具有重要临床应用价值。     

Bronchoscopy of symptom free patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus for detection of pneumocystosis.

No evidence of Pneumocystis carinii infection was found in eight symptom free patients who were positive for the human immunodeficiency virus and who underwent bronchoscopy, bronchoalveolar lavage, and brush biopsy. This suggests that the presence of Pneumocystis carinii in bronchoscopy material is likely to indicate pneumocystis infection.