Digestive manifestations of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): study in 26 patients]

We studied the gastrointestinal manifestations in 26 cases of AIDS. The patients belonged to two different epidemiological groups: the first group included thirteen french homosexual men, the second group included 6 Haitians, 6 Africans and a Pakistanian, none of them admit homosexual activity. The clinical manifestations were: chronic watery diarrhea in 17 cases, bloody diarrhea in 2 cases; loss of weight in the 26 cases; dysphagia in five cases; jaundice in one patient (due to Kaposi sarcoma of the ampulla of Vater). The digestive lesions found, alone or associated, were necrotizing enteritis (2), ulcerative colitis (1), pseudomembranous colitis (1), Candida esophagitis (10), erythematous duodenitis (6), proctitis (4), Kaposi sarcoma (3), diffuse (2) or localized (1). Thirteen patients out of the 26 presented opportunistic digestive infections due to one or several germs. These were 10 cases of esophageal infection (due to Candida albicans) and 8 cases of enterocolonic infection due to Cytomegalovirus (3 cases), Cryptosporidium (3 cases), Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (1 case), Cryptococcus neoformans (1 case). The other digestive infections cases were due to non-opportunistic pathogens: Entamoeba histolytica (3 cases); Giardia lamblia (3 cases); Strongyloides stercoralis (2 cases); Salmonella typhi (2 cases); Shigella (1 case); Herpes simplex virus (1 case). No difference was noticed between the homosexual and the heterosexual groups with respect to the nature and the frequency of the digestive infections.