Abstract

BARBA, R. et al. Fever on unknown origin in patients with HIV. An. Med. Interna (Madrid) [online]. 2001, vol.18, n.4, pp.17-22. ISSN 0212-7199.

Objectives: To describe the clinical presentation of FUO in patients infected with HIV and to asses the diagnostic usefulness in this population of several test usually recommended in the study of FUO.  Patients and methods: We studied the clinical charts of all patients with HIV that required admission to our Hospital during a 23-month period. FUO was defined according to Petersdorf´s modified criteria. Fifty-four patients fulfilled study criteria during the entry period.  Results: A cause of fever was identified for 48 patients (89%). Tuberculosis, disseminated atypical mycobacteriosis and Leishmaniasis can explain 68% of them. Examination of bone marrow aspirates, lymph node aspirates and biopsy, and culture of clinical specimens for mycobacteria were the procedures with the highest diagnostic yield.  Conclusions: Mycobacterial infection should be considered as a first-line diagnosis in HIV- patients with FUO. It is possible to predict the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection with a high level of confidence (90.5%) through a logistic regression model based on easily obtainable parameters.

Keywords : Fever of unknown origin; HIV; AIDS; Mycobacteria.

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