Improved light-microscopical detection of microsporidia spores in stool and duodenal aspirates
Article Abstract:
A special stain that can identify protozoa in stool samples may offer a non-invasive method of diagnosing the cause of chronic diarrhea in HIV-infected individuals. Enterocytozoon bieneusi, a member of the microsporidia, is a frequent cause of diarrhea in these patients. Stool samples were taken from four HIV-infected patients whose infection with the protozoan had been diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy. The samples were stained and examined under a microscope. All samples contained microsporidial spores. Stool samples were taken from an additional 134 HIV-infected individuals enrolled in a study of intestinal opportunistic infections. Microsporidial spores were found in the stool of four patients who had chronic diarrhea, weight loss and low CD4 counts. These patients also had spores in fluid aspirated from their duodenum during endoscopy.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1992
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Enteric viruses and diarrhea in HIV-infected patients
Article Abstract:
Viral infections may be one of the most common causes of diarrhea in HIV-positive people. Seven different viruses were identified in stool samples from HIV-positive patients with diarrhea. Astroviruses and adenoviruses were most common, followed by picobirnaviruses. Blood and stool samples from 211 HIV patients with and without diarrhea at the time the year-long study began were analyzed for the presence of viruses, parasites or bacteria. Viruses were found in 35% of the samples from patients who had diarrhea when the study began. Only 12% of the samples from the group without diarrhea had evidence of viral infection. Parasites were present in 22% of the samples from patients with chronic diarrhea and in 3% of the samples from patients with acute diarrhea. Few samples had evidence of bacterial infection.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1993
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Declining CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts are associated with increased risk of enteric parasitosis and chronic diarrhea: results of a 3-year longitudinal study
Article Abstract:
Chronic diarrhea in HIV patients is often associated with intestinal parasites. Researchers collected monthly stool samples from 602 people infected with HIV, and found parasites in 35% of cases of chronic diarrhea and 14% of cases of acute diarrhea. Parasites were more common in samples from patients with greater immunosuppression. Cryptosporidium parvum was the protozoa most commonly causing the diarrhea.
Publication Name: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 1077-9450
Year: 1999
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