Chronic Diarrhoea in HIV+ Patients: Role of Enterocytozoon Bieneusi

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Chronic Diarrhoea in HIV+ Patients: Role of Enterocytozoon Bieneusi

Journal of the American Medical Association (12/06/95) Vol. 274, No. 21, P. 1657

Bernard et al. studied HIV-infected individuals to determine the various characteristics of chronic diarrhea related to the disease. The researchers isolated 34 pathogenic agents in some 50 percent of the patients. The most frequently identified pathogen was Enterocytozoon bieneusi, which was found in nearly one-quarter of the patients, followed closely by Cryptosporidium sp. The patients with microsporidiosis were all observed to be in stage C according to the 1993 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classification, and experienced a longer duration of diarrhea, greater weight loss, and a lower Karnofsky index. Patients without microsporidiosis were more likely to receive prophylaxis with dapsone or pyrimethamine in the three months prior to inclusion in the study. The researchers concluded that microsporidiosis should be considered as a potential cause of chronic diarrhea in HIV-infected individuals with CD4 levels of less than 100.

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