Enteric parasitic infections in HIV/AIDS patients before and after the highly active antiretroviral therapy

Enteroparasites are related to gastrointestinal alterations among patients with HIV/AIDS, some causing severe manifestations in the period before the institution of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The prevalence of enteroparasitoses in patients with HIV/AIDS seen at two hospitals in Ceará , Brazil, was compared in the pre-HAART (Group 1; n = 482) and HAART (Group 2; n = 100) eras. Fecal parasitologic examinations (FPE) were performed using the direct, Lutz, Baermann-Moraes and modified Ziehl-Neelsen methods. The following parasites were detected in Groups 1 and 2, respectively: Strongyloides stercoralis - 30.1 percent and 11 percent (p<0.0001), Ascaris lumbricoides - 15.6 percent and 2 percent (p<0.0001), hookworms - 13.7 percent and 2 percent (p<0.0001), Trichuris trichiura - 13.1 percent and 1 percent (p<0.0001), Hymenolepis nana - 0 and 1 percent (p = 0.1718), Giardia duodenalis - 7.9 percent and 1 percent (p = 0.0076), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar - 3.3 percent and 1 percent (p = 0.3301), Isospora belli - 4.8 percent and 1 percent (p = 0.0993), Cryptosporidium sp. - 8.1 percent and 0 (p = 0.0007), and non-pathogenic protozoans as well. There was a significant reduction in the prevalence of enteroparasites between the eras (63.9 percent to 24 percent; p<0.0001). In the HAART era, the following observations were made: greater frequency of enteroparasites in patients without antiretroviral therapy (p = 0.0575), as in those with AIDS (p = 0.08), and diarrhea (36 percent of the patients); lack of association with positive FPE (p = 0.626); and non-detection of Cryptosporidium sp. Strongyloides stercoralis showed an elevated prevalence in the two eras and was more frequent in men (32.41 percent) than women (19.04 percent) of Group 1 (p = 0.018), a finding suggesting the transmission of the helminth through sodomy. The advent of the HAART modified the profile of opportunistic infections, including parasites, probably due...

Avaliação de testes de diagnóstico rápidos na detecção de infecção assintomática do línguido amniótico em mulheres gestantes / Evaluation of rapids diagnosis tests in detection of amniotic fluid asymptomatic infection in pregnant women

Há evidências que associam ruptura prematura de membranas e parto prematuro com colonização bacteriana do líquido amniótico. O propósito deste estudo foi avaliar os métodos de diagnósticos rápidos incluindo determinação de glicose, coloração de Gram e proteína C reativa na detecção de infecção assintomática do líquido amniótico em mulheres gestantes. A população do estudo consistiiu de 81 pacientes admitidas na Maternidade Escola Assis Chateaubriand. O líquido amniótico foi coletado por amniocentese transabdominal de gestantes sem evidências clínicas de coriamnionite. O líquido amniótico foi de 9,9. As bactérias isoladas foram: Ureaplasma urealyticum (8,6).