Esophageal disease in patients with AIDS: diagnosis and treatment.
Patients with HIV infection often present with symptoms suggesting esophageal disease: these include odynophagia (pain with swallowing), dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), and retrosternal chest pain. Esophageal symptoms rank second only to diarrhea in frequency of gastrointestinal complaints among patients with AIDS. Also, esophageal opportunistic infections have been associated with a poor outcome, the mean survival after diagnosis being less than 6 months in one study. Such short survival may be explained by the underlying immunosuppression, as well as a decrease in nutritional intake due to difficulty swallowing.
Bonacini
M
M
Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA. A43170@pol.net
Laine
L A
LA
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004935:Esophageal Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D004947:Esophagus / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055502:Secondary Prevention
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents