Radiographic findings in HIV-positive patients with sensitive and resistant tuberculosis.

To facilitate early recognition of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) disease in HIV-positive patients we evaluated the chest x-ray films of 72 patients in a tertiary care center in New York City. Thirty-three patients had sensitive MTB, 3 had single-drug resistant (SDR) MTB, and 36 patients had multi-drug resistant (MDR) MTB. All chest x-ray films were reviewed and correlated with drug sensitivities, additional diagnostic results, and clinical courses. There were no significant radiographic differences among the 3 groups on initial presentation (p > 0.05). Cavities were found in 12 patients, upper lobe disease in 23, lower lobe disease in 15, possible intrathoracic lymphadenopathy in 30, diffuse infiltrates in 12, pleural effusion in 13, and a miliary pattern in 3 patients. Normal chest x-ray films were found in ten patients. After 2 weeks of therapy, 20 out of 35 MDR-MTB patients developed new effusions, possible intrathoracic lymphadenopathy, or worsening infiltrates. With deterioration, the probability of MDR MTB was 95 percent in our case control study. Thus, it would be reasonable to adjust antituberculosis therapy in HIV-positive patients with deteriorating conditions shown on chest x-ray films after 2 weeks of therapy.

Hafnia alvei. Respiratory tract isolates in a community hospital over a three-year period and a literature review.

In a retrospective review, a group of seven patients were found to have a sputum culture positive for Hafnia alvei. Hafnia alvei is a Gram-negative enteric and oropharyngeal bacillus and usually is nonpathogenic. All our patients had a chronic underlying illness and one of the patients was endotracheally intubated at the time of the isolation of this organism. Six of seven patients had other organisms isolated along with H alvei, and only one patient had a pure growth of H alvei confirmed by a culture obtained from a bronchoscopic protected brush specimen. All isolates displayed resistance to conventional antibiotics including cephalosporins and penicillins. Although rare, H alvei may be a potential pathogen in a patient with a chronic underlying illness.

Mycobacterium gordonae: a treatable disease in HIV-positive patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the pathogenicity of Mycobacterium gordonae in patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-one HIV-positive and 15 HIV-negative patients in a tertiary care center. A descriptive, case-control, and cohort study with a review of the literature with a computer-based data research. RESULTS: The 15 HIV-negative patients had colonization only. Seven HIV-positive patients had colonization, 12 had possible disease, and 2 had dissemination. The two patients with definitive dissemination improved objectively with treatment. CONCLUSION: Mycobacterium gordonae in HIV-negative patients is rarely a pathogen. In HIV-positive patients with a low CD4+ cell count, it can cause significant disease and treatment is beneficial.

Disseminated Strongyloides stercoralis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. Treatment failure and a review of the literature.

We describe a North American human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patient with Strongyloides stercoralis infection of the gastrointestinal tract, who required repeated "standard" courses of thiabendazole. Pulmonary infection with numerous roundworms developed, as suspected by bronchoalveolar lavage, and while he was receiving therapy, dissemination occurred. On autopsy, S stercoralis was recovered in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, lung, and heart. After a literature review, we conclude that HIV-positive patients have a higher risk of dissemination and "standard" treatment failure. This may occur without elevation of IgE or eosinophilia. Those patients may require prolonged courses of thiabendazole or alternatively ivermectin therapy.

Pulmonary actinomycosis. A cause of endobronchial disease in a patient with AIDS.

We report a case of a 47-year-old man with AIDS who presented with fever, cough and a lingular infiltrate. Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed an endobronchial exophytic mass with extensive purulent exudate which on Gram stain and cytology from bronchial washings revealed Actinomyces infection. There was a clinical response to penicillin therapy, and on repeat bronchoscopic examination, there was a partial resolution of the endobronchial infection. To our knowledge, this is the first known case of endobronchial pulmonary actinomycosis in a patient with AIDS.

Multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-MTB) infection has not been recognized as a serious problem in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Multidrug resistance (MDR) has appeared in our medical center in 24 out of 72 patients between January 1990 and May 1991 compared to 8 out of 132 patients within the period from 1982 to 1987 (relative risk 5.50 with 95 percent confidence interval 2.61 to 11.61). We describe 19 patients with MDR in MTB (isoniazid and at least one additional first line drug), who had serologic evidence of HIV infection, 13 of whom were diagnosed with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The MTB cultures from 10 out of 19 patients with MDR were resistant to three or more drugs. Fifteen patients died although 9 out of these 15 had received at least a four-drug regimen for a mean time of seven weeks (range 2 to 12). This increase in MDR was seen in ten homosexuals and nine intravenous drug users. This rapid appearance of MDR-MTB strains is worrisome. New strategies for empiric therapy of such patients while awaiting sensitivity data are needed.

Aspergillosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

The role of Aspergillus species as a pathogen in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has not been clearly defined. From 1984 to 1989, more than 2,000 AIDS patients were seen at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York. Aspergillus was isolated in ten patients; seven had invasive disease and three had noninvasive disease. Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) was diagnosed in six patients and invasive renal aspergillosis was found in one patient. Five were homosexual men and two were intravenous drug users. At presentation, all ten had fever, seven had cough, eight had dyspnea, and five had pleuritic chest pain. Chest roentgenograms revealed focal infiltrates in six patients, bilateral interstitial infiltrates in two patients, and bilateral pneumothoraces in one patient. Predisposing conditions included corticosteroid therapy in four, granulocytopenia (less than 1,000/cu m) in two, and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy in five. Three of the four patients receiving corticosteroids received them as adjuvant therapy for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). Aspergillus was identified antemortem in eight patients, in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in six, in transbronchial biopsy specimen in three, in open lung biopsy specimen in one, and postmortem in one patient. Six of seven patients had at least one concomitant pulmonary process. Six underwent necropsy and findings showed IPA in three, disseminated aspergillosis in two, and PCP in one. Invasive aspergillosis, although significant, is uncommon in AIDS. When Aspergillus is isolated in the setting of corticosteroid therapy, antibiotics, or granulocytopenia, one must suspect invasive disease.

Profile of bronchospastic disease in Puerto Rican patients in New York City. A possible relationship to alpha 1-antitrypsin variants.

A high prevalence of asthmalike symptoms was noted among patients of Puerto Rican descent attending Beth Israel and North Central Bronx Medical Centers in New York City, as compared with other ethnic groups. An evaluation of family and medical histories, pulmonary function data, and alpha 1-antitrypsin phenotypes was undertaken in such Puerto Rican patients and control subjects without asthma. The patients showed a higher proportion of MS and MV phenotypes. All the patients in both MM and variant phenotype groups, with the exception of four MM patients, had features indicative of asthma, with labile airway obstruction, and elevated serum immunoglobulin E and eosinophil levels. The latter was significantly higher in the patients with variant phenotypes than in MM patients. Patients with alpha 1-antitrypsin variants also had much shorter smoking histories as compared with the MM group, and all reported histories of asthma in first-degree relatives, as compared with 66% among the MM patients. We conclude that there is an increased incidence of asthma among Puerto Ricans in New York City, and that the antitrypsin variant phenotypes (specifically S and V) play a role in this incidence and its expression.

Pulmonary actinomycosis in a patient with HIV infection.

Pulmonary actinomycosis is a rare clinical entity. It may arise primarily from aspiration of infected oropharyngeal material or secondarily from contiguous spread of cervicofacial or abdominal infection. We report the case of an HIV-seropositive patient with a two-week history of fever, a productive cough, and pleuritic chest pain. Chest x-ray revealed bilateral patchy alveolar infiltrates. Histological examination of transbronchial biopsy specimens revealed acute inflammation and granules with radiating gram-positive filaments with clubbed ends consistent with actinomycosis. The patient responded to intravenous penicillin and is currently well on long-term enteral antibiotic therapy.

Miliary PCP in AIDS.

The most frequent radiographic presentation of (PCP) is bilateral interstitial or alveolar infiltrates. Atypical features include lobar distribution, pleural effusions, hilar adenopathy, cyst formation and spontaneous pneumothorax. A diffuse miliary pattern has not been described previously for PCP. A 30-year-old male intravenous drug abuser, with AIDS, presented to our institution complaining of fever and productive cough. Admission chest x-ray film revealed a "classic" miliary pattern. Sputum smears were negative for acid-fast bacilli and both bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial biopsy revealed only PCP. Repeat bronchoscopy one month later was unrevealing and marked x-ray resolution occurred after treatment with pentamidine alone. The incidence of atypical roentgenographic features of PCP in AIDS is approximately 10 percent. Given the frequency of this infection in AIDS, knowledge of the unusual presentations is imperative. Based on this report, PCP must be included in the differential diagnosis of a miliary x-ray pattern.

Elevated levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme in Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) levels are elevated in sarcoidosis and have been used both to diagnose and to assess response to treatment of this disease. We report significantly (p less than .0005) elevated ACE levels in patients with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) (49 +/- 14 U/L) compared with normal control subjects (32 +/- 11 U/L) tested within 48 hours of hospital admission. Serum ACE levels in smoking control subjects (33 +/- 11 U/L) were not significantly (alpha = .05) different from nonsmoking control subjects (32 +/- 11 U/L), but the levels in PCP patients who smoked (55 +/- 15 U/L) were significantly (p less than .025) higher than in those who did not smoke (42 +/- 10 U/L). In addition to suggesting a possible clinical use for measuring ACE levels in suspected or confirmed PCP, we speculate that elevations in serum ACE levels may reflect macrophage dysfunction in patients with PCP.

Endobronchial tuberculosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Although many of the pulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are well known, endobronchial involvement has not been previously described. We report the clinical, roentgenographic, and bronchoscopic features of three patients with endobronchial tuberculosis and AIDS. All of the patients had nonspecific symptoms of fever and cough; however, none exhibited the classic findings of dyspnea, wheezing, or hemoptysis. Smears of sputum were nondiagnostic. The chest x-ray film revealed mediastinal adenopathy in two patients and a lower lobe consolidation in the third; all had small ipsilateral pleural effusions. Endobronchial lesions were white or pink exophytic masses obstructing the airways, mimicking bronchogenic carcinoma. Areas of "classic" primary tuberculosis were seen in two of the patients. Despite ongoing clinical and roentgenographic deterioration, all patients responded well to antituberculosis medications. Given the frequency of tuberculosis in patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex, one should maintain a high index of suspicion for involvement of the tracheobronchial tree, so as to avoid a delay in diagnosis and resultant increased morbidity and mortality.

Massive haemoptysis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

A 32-year-old male intravenous drug abuser was admitted to our institution with constitutional symptoms and sputum smears containing acid-fast bacilli, but no parenchymal disease on chest radiograph. He subsequently developed massive haemoptysis and required an emergency lobectomy. The pathology specimen revealed miliary tuberculosis with extensive caseation, schistosomiasis and cytomegalovirus. This is the first report of massive haemoptysis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The severe pulmonary haemorrhage was most likely due to miliary tuberculosis.

Pulmonary cryptococcosis in AIDS.

Cryptococcus neoformans is emerging as an important etiologic agent of disseminated infection in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Little attention has been placed on the pulmonary expression of this systemic infection. We report five patients with AIDS and cryptococcosis with primary pulmonary involvement. Patients usually presented with fever, cough, dyspnea, and pleuritic chest pain. Chest x-ray findings varied from localized and diffuse infiltration to lymphadenopathy and pleural effusions. All patients developed disseminated disease despite antifungal therapy. Pulmonary cryptococcosis is a frequent presentation of this infection in patients with AIDS.