Endoscopy in HIV infected patients

HIV is a very common infection in Thailand, affecting about one million of the population already, with 99,555 persons with full blown AIDS at the end of 1999. The first case of AIDS was reported in Thailand in 1984. Gastrointestinal involvement is very common, the commonest presentations are diarrhea, esophageal symptoms, hepatobiliary symptoms, and weight loss. When the CD4+ T cell count falls below 200, the body becomes highly susceptible to opportunistic infections and neoplasms. Almost all AIDS patients will have GI symptoms at sometime during the course of their illness. This is because the GI tract contains an abundant quantity of lymphoid tissue and is likely to function as a reservoir of HIV infection. In chronic diarrhea cases, apart from other investigations, small bowel biopsy and aspiration may help to find the cause. If oral candidiasis is present, one should keep HIV in mind and look for oral hairy leucoplakia, dysphagia and odynophagia as one-third of patients with AIDS will develop dysphagia or odynophagia in the course of their disease. Those with esophageal candidiasis will usually have oral candidiasis and odynophagia while 18 per cent of the patients will not have oral thrush. CMV esophagitis and HIV ulcer (or idiopathic oesophageal ulcer) are also common. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy are helpful in finding the exact cause of the oesophageal symptoms. Hepatobiliary manifestations are present with jaundice, hepatomegaly, and pain. ERCP is very helpful in diagnosing and classifying these conditions. Papillary stenosis and dominant biliary stricture can be treated by endoscopy but long term results are still poor due to late manifestation of these conditions.