[Pulmonary complications of human immunodeficiency virus infection in sub-Saharan Africa]

Based on a selection of articles published in the literature and reports from international AIDS conferences, we present the main pulmonary complications of HIV-infection observed in sub-Saharan Africa. The different clinical studies demonstrate the predominance of infectious complications, mainly tuberculosis (29 to 44%) and bacterial pneumonia (21 to 35%). The frequency of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia remains low (5 to 19%). Other complications (mycobacterial infection, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, cryptococcus, aspergillosis, interstitial lymphoid pneumonia, Kaposi sarcoma) are less frequent. The autopsy studies report similar results and mention the predominance of tuberculosis and pneumonia due to common germs as well as the low frequency of pneumocystosis. This analysis of work conducted in sub-Saharan Africa clearly indicate that tuberculosis remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected patients.