Disseminated aspergillosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

The relationship of disseminated aspergillosis with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is unclear. In the initial case definition of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) developed by the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta, aspergillosis was included as an AIDS-defining opportunistic infection. In view of the primary relationship of aspergillosis with neutropenia rather than with lymphocyte depletion, as well as the lack of aspergillar infections among reported AIDS cases, aspergillosis was later deleted from the CDC case definition of AIDS. We describe a case of disseminated aspergillosis in a patient with AIDS, with an extensive literature review of the subject.