Thoracic manifestations of AIDS

Of 67 hospitalized AIDS patients, 39 had pulmonary pathology. More than half of these patients died of pulmonary disease. Pneumocystis carinii, cytomegalovirus, Cryptococcus neoformans and Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare were the most common pulmonary pathogens, and Kaposi's sarcoma was the most common neoplasm. Infections and neoplasms frequently coexist in the thorax of an AIDS patient. The chest radiograph may be normal in an AIDS patient with active Pneumocystis pneumonia.