Bacterial infections in the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Clinicopathologic correlations in a series of autopsy cases.
In a group of 46 adult patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who came to autopsy in 1983-1987, the authors found that 38 (83%) had bacterial (nonmycobacterial) infections some time during the course of their illness, compared with 34 (74%) who had parasitic infections, 31 (67%) who had viral infections, 28 (61%) who had fungal infections, and 12 (26%) who had mycobacterial infections. Twenty-five of these patients (54%) had Staphylococcus aureus infections, compared with 7 (15%) who had Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections and 6 (13%) who had enterococcal infections. Overall, undiagnosed infections or malignancies were found in 48%, 22 of the 46 autopsies, including 12 cases of undiagnosed bacterial infections, 8 of these due to S. aureus. These results suggest that bacterial infections in general, and S. aureus infections in particular, are important causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with AIDS.
Nichols
L
L
Department of Pathology, New England Deaconess Hospital, Lahey Clinic, Boston, Massachusetts.
Balogh
K
K
Silverman
M
M
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009181:Mycoses / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000150:complications*; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D011010:Pneumocystis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000150:complications*