INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN AIDS

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1988. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN AIDS

Kaposi's Sarcoma: A Text and Atlas. Gottlieb GJ, Ackerman AB, eds. Philadelphia, Lea and Febiger, p. 179-96, 1988.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/88647201
Greene JB; Schrager LK; New York Univ. Sch. of Medicine, New York, NY

Abstract: Diagnosis of the infectious diseases associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is discussed in terms of general principles, infections considered to be diagnostic for AIDS, and infections commonly associated with AIDS but not regarded as diagnostic. Five color plates illustrate the pathologic and clinical features of several of these infections. Opportunistic infections described here that satisfy the diagnostic criteria for AIDS are: Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, cryptosporidiosis, CNS toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, cryptococcosis, invasive esophageal candidiasis, persistent ulcerative herpes simplex genitalis, and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Infections that complicate, but are not diagnostic of, AIDS are as follows: mucocutaneous candidiasis (thrush), impetigo, legionellosis, varicella-zoster infections, molluscum contagiosum, herpes simplex stomatitis, and Salmonella infections. The organisms involved in AIDS-related infections are pathogens that are primarily defended against by cell-mediated immunity. All of the biologic agents have been found in other clinical settings, but some, such as cryptosporidia or Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, rarely were implicated in life-threatening infections prior to the current epidemic. Diagnosis may be complicated by the host's poor immune response, which results in diminished symptoms and signs of infection. Patients with AIDS are often afflicted with several opportunistic infections simultaneously. Therefore, an exhaustive approach to diagnosis is necessary. A partial or incomplete response to therapy for a specific infection should alert the clinician to the possibility of a previously unrecognized coincidental pathogen. (32 Refs)

Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*PATHOLOGY Brain/PATHOLOGY Cryptosporidiosis/PATHOLOGY Cytomegalovirus Infections/PATHOLOGY Homosexuality Human Lung/PATHOLOGY Mycobacterium avium/PATHOGENICITY Opportunistic Infections/*PATHOLOGY Pneumonia, Pneumocystis carinii/PATHOLOGY Skin/PATHOLOGY Skin Diseases, Infectious/PATHOLOGY Toxoplasmosis/PATHOLOGY Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/PATHOLOGY MONOGRAPH REVIEW, TUTORIAL REVIEW

881130
M88B0598

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