POPLINE Document Number: 076332
Author(s):
Moreira Junior ED
Silva N
Barberino MG
Brites C
Johnson WD Jr
Badaro R
Source citation:
REVISTA DA SOCIEDADE BRASILEIRA DE MEDICINA TROPICAL, 1991 Jan-Mar;24(1):61-2.
Abstract:
In the US, only .2% of AIDS patients are afflicted with Isospora belli infection, in Brazil less than 1% of patients were diagnosed with isosporosis, while in Haiti 15% present with this infection. 7 cases of AIDS with chronic diarrhea caused by this infection are presented. The diagnosis of isosporosis was established by the direct stool examination using the modified Ziehl-Neelsen coloration test. All patients were treated with 800 mg of sulfamethoxazole and 160 mg of trimetoprim orally 4 times/day for 10 days, subsequently 2 times/day for 2 weeks, and maintaining a daily dose 3 times/week for prophylaxis of recurrence. The patients had watery diarrhea without mucus or blood with 11 +or- 3 evacuations/day accompanied by diffuse abdominal pain. Treatment resolved the diarrhea within 3.5 +or- 1.7 days. Diarrhea is a common symptom in AIDS patients. 76 (69%) of 110 AIDS patients in Bahia had diarrhea, and the identification of the etiologic agent occurred in only 28 (37%) of these. The above coloration method for the detection of the coccidia Isospora belli and Cryptosporidium sp. should be included in routine diagnostic investigation of patients with diarrhea and AIDS, since this would facilitate the detection of a treatable infection whose incidence is probably underestimated by means of a simple and noninvasive method.
Keywords:
BrazilIndex page
AIDS
Diarrhea
Parasitic Diseases
Examinations and Diagnoses
Treatment
Infections
Developing Countries
South America, Eastern
South America
Latin America
Americas
HIV Infections
Viral Diseases
Diseases