title: Treatment of AIDS-associated heart disease.
abstract: Although the diagnosis of AIDS-associated heart disease is becoming routine, its treatment has not been reported except in anecdote. Also, it has been unclear whether the odds of successful treatment are altered because of the presence of cardiac involvement per se. This communication reports the authors' treatment of 18 patients with AIDS-associated heart disease. Their results are combined with the treatment results of all patients reported in the literature to date with AIDS-associated heart disease. Treatment success, defined as eradication of the organism and no relapse, was achieved in their patients with M. tuberculosis (M. tb), cardiac cryptococcosis, and Salmonella typhimurium. M. tb required emergency pericardiectomy (well tolerated in all patients), then administration of rifampin, isoniazid, and ethambutol. Cryptococcosis was treated acutely with amphotericin B and flucytosine, then with maintenance amphotericin B. The response, which included resolution of congestive heart failure, occurred within a week. Salmonella endocarditis was cured with administration of ampicillin and netilmicin for one month. When the patients' data were combined with those of patients from the literature, the authors found that the odds of successful treatment for tuberculous pericarditis were somewhat lower than if the tuberculosis was extracardiac (50% vs 67%). With cryptococcal heart disease, the odds of successful treatment were actually significantly better than when only extracardiac disease was present. The authors conclude that infectious forms of AIDS-associated heart disease are often treatable. Although some cardiac infections are less likely to respond to treatment if there is cardiac involvement, mostly the response to treatment is similar to the response with only extracardiac involvement.
authors.affiliation: Reed Institute, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Kinney
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Monsuez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitzis
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vittecoq
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010493:Pericarditis / Q000209:etiology; D011859:Radiography; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000995:Antitubercular Agents