Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
13:50
Sequencing of Bacterial Microflora in Peripheral Blood: our Experience with HIV-infected Patients
Published on: June 11, 2011
12.3K
Histoplasmosis at a Reference Center for Infectious Diseases in Southeast Brazil: Comparison between HIV-Positive and
Ariane Gomes Paixão1, Marcos Abreu Almeida1, Roberta Espírito Santo Correia1
1Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil.
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
|May 26, 2023
Summary
Histoplasmosis (Hc) disproportionately affects HIV-infected patients, often presenting as disseminated disease with delayed diagnosis and higher mortality. Early screening for Hc in immunocompromised individuals is critical.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
Background:
- Histoplasmosis (Hc) is a global systemic fungal infection.
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a significant risk factor for severe Hc.
- Understanding Hc presentation and risk factors in HIV-infected individuals is crucial for timely diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe cases of histoplasmosis.
- To establish a risk profile for histoplasmosis in HIV-infected patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of patients with laboratory-confirmed histoplasmosis.
- Data collected via REDCap and analyzed using R statistical software.
Main Results:
- 99 patients included: 65 HIV-positive (HIV+) and 34 HIV-negative (HIV-).
- HIV+ patients experienced delayed diagnosis (median 22 weeks vs. 8 weeks), higher rates of disseminated Hc (79.4% vs. 36.4%), and lower median CD4 counts (70).
- Co-infection with tuberculosis (20%) and positive blood/bone marrow cultures were more frequent in HIV+ patients.
Conclusions:
- HIV+ patients with histoplasmosis often present with advanced AIDS, disseminated disease, and face diagnostic delays.
- Factors associated with mortality in HIV+ patients included anemia, leukopenia, intensive care, vasopressors, and mechanical ventilation.
- Early screening for Hc in HIV+ and immunosuppressed patients is essential.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Sexually Transmitted Infections
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are diseases transmitted primarily through unsafe sexual interactions. Bacteria, viruses, or parasites cause them and can result in severe health complications if untreated.ChlamydiaThe bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis is responsible for the disease Chlamydia, the most common STI in the United States. This peculiar pathogen requires human cells to reproduce, residing intracellularly. The initial infection often goes unnoticed because it typically does not...
01:30Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis is a protozoal disease caused by species of the genus Leishmania and transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies. The parasite exists in two principal morphological forms during its life cycle. A sandfly acquires intracellular amastigotes from an infected reservoir host, such as a dog. Within the sandfly, these forms differentiate into motile, flagellated promastigotes. During a subsequent blood meal, promastigotes are injected into the human host, where they...
01:28Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
01:22American Trypanosomiasis
Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...