[Tuberculous peritonitis in HIV-infected patients]

In order to describe the clinical and laboratory findings of Mycobacterium tuberculosis peritonitis M. tuberculosis in HIV+ patients, we conducted a retrospective analysis of the medical records of HIV+ patients with isolation of M. tuberculosis from ascitic fluid (AF), assisted at Hospital Muñiz, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1996-2005).

21 patients were included. Median age: 33, male sex: 52%; peripheral blood CD4-T lymphocyte count (median): 85/mm3; prior history of tuberculosis: 40%; cirrhosis: 65%; enolism: 45%; HCV coinfection: 85%. The most frequent symptoms were abdominal distension (71%), fever (62%) and abdominal pain (19%). The chemical characteristics of the AF were (median): leukocyte count: 751/mm3 (mononuclear predominance: 79%), protein: 3.1 g/dl, LDH: 351 IU/l. AF samples positive for acid fast bacilli at direct microscopic examination: 14%. Infection with multidrug resistant M. tuberculosis (TB-MR): 20%. M. tuberculosis was isolated from other clinical samples in 79%. Fifteen patients received treatment for tuberculosis; in 30% of cases, it was not appropriate due to the susceptibility of the isolated strain. Overall mortality was 66.4%.

high mortality was observed, which may be attributable to the high frequency of TB-MR, the level of immunosuppression and the prevalence of cirrhosis secondary to enolism and/or HCV coinfection.