PubMed · 11361754
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1997. Different clarithromycin doses affect mortality.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11361754/
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A prospective study was conducted on 79 advanced immunosuppressed AIDS patients from 1997 to 1999, during which nine cases of tuberculosis (TB) were diagnosed. The main clinical and laboratory characteristics and the response to TB treatment were reviewed. The clinical manifestations of TB were: pulmonary (six cases), extrapulmonary (two cases) and disseminated (one case). These patients were being treated with highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) and were not responding. In three cases an optional regimen without rifampicin (RMP) was indicated to maintain HAART during TB treatment. A clinical response to TB treatment (disappearance of fever) was observed in 6/9 patients during a mean of 73 days (SD = 96). The three unresponsive patients were those treated without RMP. A switch to TB regimens containing RMP was proposed and successful. In our study, though it was limited by a small sample size, the response to TB regimens without rifampin was poor in immunosupressed patients failing HAART.
UNLABELLED: Sulfonamides are drugs extensively used in the management of AIDS patients. However, the use of sulfonamides is often associated with the development of allergic reactions, provoking the substitution of the drug (by another that may be less effective); alternatively attempts are made to desensitize the patient. OBJECTIVE: Compare two drug regimens (full vs. escalating doses) for the oral desensitization of AIDS patients allergic to sulfonamides. MATERIAL AND METHODS: AIDS patients with previous allergic reactions to sulfonamides and requiring prophylaxis against Pneumocistis carinii, central nervous system toxoplasmosis and diarrhea caused by Isospora belli were randomly assigned to a group receiving a routine dose of cothrimoxazole, or another that received escalating doses of an oral suspension of the same drug, initiating with 75 mg/day of sulfamethoxazole that was doubled every 48 hours till the full dose was reached, if no allergic reaction occurred. Patients were monitored for at least 6 months after enrollment in the trial. The major end-point was the ability to maintain prophylactic treatment after that period of time. Plasma viral load (PVL) and CD(4)/CD(8) counts were measured at baseline. Liver enzymes and hematological parameters were measured at baseline and after 1, 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were enrolled in the study (15 men and 3 women), with ages ranging from 30 to 57 years (mean 39.9). The mean CD(4) counts were slightly higher for patients receiving a full dose; there was also a trend towards higher baseline CD(8) counts among patients developing new reactions. The mean PVL was similar among the patients in both desensitization groups. The incidence of new allergic reactions was identical (40%) in the two groups. All adverse reactions were mild and no significant increase in liver enzymes were observed. CONCLUSION: Dose regimen is not a predictor of the development of new allergic reactions amongst patients challenged with sulfonamides after an initial allergic reaction.
Extensive reviews of pulmonary infections in AIDS have reported few herpetic infections. Generally these infections are due to Herpes simplex type 1. Pneumonia due to herpes type 2 is extremely rare. We describe a 40 year-old HIV positive woman who complained of fever, cough and dyspnea for seven years. She had signs of heart failure and the appearance of her genital vesicles was highly suggestive of genital herpes. Echocardiography showed marked pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular hypertrophy and tricuspid insufficiency. After a few days of hospitalization she was treated with Aciclovir and later with Ganciclovir. An open pulmonary biopsy revealed an interstitial inflammation, localized in the alveolar walls. Some pulmonary arteries had widened walls and focal hyaline degeneration. Immunohistochemistry indicated that the nuclei had herpes simplex virus type 2 in many endothelial cells (including vessels with widened walls), macrophages in the alveolar septa and pneumocytes. There was clinical improvement after treatment for herpes. We concluded that as a consequence of herpes infection, endothelial involvement and interstitial inflammation supervene, with thickening of vascular walls and partial obliteration of the vessel lumen. A direct consequence of these changes in pulmonary vasculature was pulmonary hypertension followed by heart failure.