Esophageal perforation.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Duerr.
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OBJECTIVE: To describe risks for HIV transmission from male blood donors to their regular female sex partners in Chiang Mai, Thailand. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: From March 1992 through September 1995, 405 HIV-seropositive male blood donors (index cases) and their regular female partners were enrolled in the study. Women with risk factors for HIV infection other than sexual contact with the index male were excluded. Couples were interviewed and examined; specimens were collected for laboratory analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 46% of the 405 women enrolled were HIV-positive. Ninety-eight per cent of male index cases had a history of sex with a female prostitute; 1.5% reported always using condoms with their regular partner. History of sexually transmitted disease (STD) and swollen inguinal lymph nodes in the female partner were associated with an increased risk of HIV infection in the female. History in the female of genital herpes [odds ratio (OR), 3.46; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.50-8.78], gonorrhea or chlamydia infection (OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.39-5.53), and stable relationship of longer than 24 months (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.02-5.09) were associated with an increased risk of HIV infection in the female. Consistent condom use in the past 2 years (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.01-0.79) was associated with a decreased risk of HIV infection in the female. CONCLUSIONS: Married women in northern Thailand who appear otherwise to be at low risk for HIV infection may be exposed to this virus by their husbands. High rates of sex with commercial sex workers among men and low use of condoms within stable relationships may be important factors promoting the transmission of HIV in married couples. Programs to increase the regular use of condoms among married couples could be an important public health intervention to prevent transmission of HIV and other types of STD in northern Thailand.
OBJECTIVE: To identify the effect of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the clinical course of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). METHODS: Women hospitalized with PID at an urban hospital serving a population at high risk for HIV were studied cross-sectionally. Data abstracted from medical records of 349 women, admitted between July 1992 and April 1994 were linked anonymously to HIV serology. Main outcome measures were length of hospital stay, prolonged fever, tubo-ovarian abscess, surgery, and change in antibiotics. RESULTS: Among the 349 women with PID, 27 were HIV-positive. These HIV-positive women had lower mean white blood cell counts at admission (7411 versus 11,266, P < .01), lower mean lymphocyte counts (1411 versus 1928, P < .01), greater febrile morbidity (54 versus 28.3%, P < .01), and longer hospital stays (10.5 versus 6.4 days, P < .01) than HIV-negative women. Women who were HIV-positive required more time for defervescence and needed to change their antibiotic regimen more frequently (41 versus 12.7%, P < .01); differences in tubo-ovarian abscesses (19 versus 14%, P = .52) or surgery (15 versus 6.2%, P = .10) were not significant. The differences in hospital course between HIV-positive and HIV-negative women were modest, and they were resolved largely by the fourth or fifth hospital day. All HIV-positive women were treated successfully with first- or second-line antibiotic regimens. CONCLUSION: Despite more severe initial presentation and a prolonged hospital course, HIV-positive women with PID, but without other acute illnesses, were treated successfully with standard therapeutic regimens. These observations support current recommendations for hospitalization of HIV-positive women with PID and treatment according to current standards.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on vaginal yeast colonization and symptomatic vulvovaginitis and to explore the effects of immune compromise on these conditions in HIV-positive women. METHODS: Between September 1991 and May 1993, 223 HIV-positive women without AIDS-defining conditions were enrolled for prospective follow-up and compared with 289 HIV-negative women enrolled in a concurrent study. Standardized gynecologic assessment was carried out. RESULTS: Cultures from 81 of 223 (36%) HIV-positive women and 72 of 289 (25%) HIV-negative women were positive for any yeast. The most commonly isolated yeasts were Candida albicans and Torulopsis glabrata; the proportion of non-C albicans isolates (26%) did not differ by serostatus. The rates of C albicans colonization and vulvovaginitis among immunocompetent (CD4 count at least 500 cells/mm3) HIV-positive women did not differ from those among HIV-negative women. Among HIV-positive women, risks for colonization and for symptomatic vulvovaginitis were increased approximately threefold and fourfold respectively, in women with CD4 counts below 200 cells/mm3 compared with either immunocompetent HIV-positive women or HIV-negative women. CONCLUSION: The yeast species isolated from HIV-positive and HIV-negative women were similar. Rates of vaginal colonization and vaginitis were similar among nonimmunocompromised HIV-positive women and HIV-negative women. Elevated rates of yeast colonization and vaginitis were not seen among this population of HIV-infected women before immune compromise. Both vaginal colonization and symptomatic vaginitis increased with immune compromise among HIV-positive women, especially at CD4 counts below 200 cells/mm3.
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Lower genital tract specimens and endometrial biopsies from 147 women with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and surgical specimens (fallopian tubes, ovaries, or both) from 22 women with PID and 37 women without PID were cultured for cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV), as well as for organisms commonly associated with PID. CMV was isolated from 39 cervical or endometrial samples from 30 (20.4%) of 147 women with PID and from ovaries or fallopian tubes from 5 (22.7%) of 22 women with PID, but CMV was not recovered from surgical specimens obtained from 37 women undergoing surgery for tubal ligation, ectopic pregnancy, or other gynecologic conditions (P = .005). HSV was isolated from cervical samples obtained from 5 (3.4%) of 147 women with PID but not from any endometrial or surgical specimens. These data suggest that CMV, but not HSV, may contribute to the pathogenesis of PID in some patients.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) seroprevalence and genital tract shedding in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seronegative and HIV-seropositive women from an urban minority community were investigated. CMV seropositivity was high in both groups: 181 (95.2%) of 190 HIV-negative and 158 (90.3%) of 175 HIV-positive subjects. Cervicovaginal shedding was detected in 8 (4.4%) CMV-positive HIV-negative subjects and 31 (19.6%) HIV-positive subjects (odds ratio [OR], 5.28; P < .001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that CMV shedding was independently associated with younger age (OR = 0.90; P < .001) and concurrent Chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection (OR = 3.60; P = .08). However, shedding was observed over a broad age range in HIV-positive subjects, with 54.8% of shedders being > or = 30 years old. Among HIV-positive subjects, CMV shedding was also associated with decreased CD4 cell counts (P = .04) and, compared with HIV-negative subjects, was significantly higher (P < .001) among subjects with CD4 cell counts < 500 x 10(6)/L (26.5% in subjects with counts < or = 200 and 22.1% in subjects with counts of 201-499 x 10(6)/L).
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BACKGROUND: Kaposi sarcoma has become a common manifestation in people with AIDS, especially men. A few reports of Kaposi sarcoma in women with AIDS have involved nongenital areas. However, of the few patients with genital Kaposi sarcoma reported in the United States, none was believed to be human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive. Genital Kaposi sarcoma associated with HIV has been reported in other parts of the world. CASE: A 29-year-old black woman presented with severe vulvar pain, vaginal discharge, and a vulvar mass. She had been diagnosed with AIDS 25 months earlier. Biopsy of the vulvar mass revealed Kaposi sarcoma; viral analysis of the tumor was positive for herpes simplex virus type 2. Sequencing of polymerase chain reaction product verified the presence of human papillomavirus 26. CONCLUSION: We report an HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma presenting as a vulvar mass. This report should alert health care providers to include Kaposi sarcoma in the differential diagnosis of vulvar lesions.
Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), the second most common form of vaginitis, particularly affects women of childbearing age. Since the 1970s, several new agents have become available for the treatment of VVC. This review focuses on options for the treatment of this condition, critically evaluating the relevant published studies. For the treatment of acute episodes of VVC in nonpregnant women, several topical and oral antifungal agents are clinically and mycologically effective. Topical agents should be considered the first line of therapy; however, oral agents are sometimes associated with better compliance among patients. For acute episodes in pregnant women, a topical agent is the treatment of choice. Until data become available on the treatment of VVC in women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the same approach as that used for women without HIV infection should be considered as previously written. For recurrent VVC, the optimal maintenance therapy has not yet been established; however, administration of low-dose oral ketoconazole (100 mg/d) has proven effective. Well-designed studies of the best therapy for VVC in women with HIV infection and for recurrent VVC are urgently needed.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between HIV seropositivity and bacterial vaginosis (BV) in a population at high risk for sexual acquisition of HIV. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 144 female commercial sex workers in Chiang Mai, Thailand. METHODS: The participants were tested for cervical gonorrhea and Chlamydia infection, syphilis, Trichomonas vaginitis, Candida vaginitis, BV, and HIV infection. BV was diagnosed by clinical criteria (pH > 4.5, positive amine test, and presence of clue cells) and using Gram stains. RESULTS: Thirty-three per cent of participants had BV, and 43% were HIV-positive. Using clinical criteria, the association of BV and HIV seropositivity was significant [odds ratio (OR), 2.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3-5.0]. Although the association between BV and HIV prevalence was not significant using Gram stains alone for diagnosis of BV, an association was found between abnormal vaginal flora and HIV (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.0-4.8). In multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, number of sexual encounters per week, current condom use, and currently having a sexually transmitted disease (STD), both BV and a history of an STD were independently associated with HIV seropositivity (adjusted OR for BV, 4.0 and 95% CI, 1.7-9.4; adjusted OR for history of an STD, 6.9 and 95% CI, 2.1-22.9). CONCLUSIONS: When diagnosed clinically, BV is independently associated with HIV seroprevalence. HIV infection may promote abnormal vaginal flora, or BV may increase susceptibility to sexual transmission of HIV. Alternatively, the association seen here may result from intervening variables; in this case BV may be a marker or a cofactor of HIV transmission.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of active tuberculosis during pregnancy in two hospitals located in an area where tuberculosis is epidemic and to describe its course and association with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. METHODS: We reviewed and analyzed the medical records of 16 pregnant women diagnosed with tuberculosis between 1985-1992 at Kings County Hospital (n = 12) and Saint Vincent's Hospital (n = 4) in New York City. RESULTS: Ten of the 16 pregnant women with proven active tuberculosis had pulmonary tuberculosis, two had tuberculous meningitis, and one each had mediastinal, renal, gastrointestinal, and pleural tuberculosis. Eleven were tested for HIV, and seven were seropositive. One HIV-infected patient with pulmonary tuberculosis died of respiratory failure. In the 6 years between 1985-1990, five cases of active tuberculosis during pregnancy were identified (12.4 per 100,000 deliveries). During the 2 years of 1991-1992, 11 cases were recorded (94.8 per 100,000 deliveries). CONCLUSION: Cases of active tuberculosis are increasing among pregnant women in epidemic communities and are associated with HIV infection. Early tuberculin skin test screening with appropriate preventive therapy should reduce morbidity due to tuberculosis in HIV-infected women of reproductive age. Identification of pregnant women with tuberculosis requires a high index of suspicion.
HIV infection has become an important health problem among American women. The natural history of HIV infection and AIDS appears to be similar for women and men, and preliminary studies demonstrate similar survival and clinical events for both sexes. The natural history and presentation of common gynecologic infections and conditions may be altered by HIV. Most is known about cervical dysplasia. The risk of cervical dysplasia appears to be increased in women with HIV infection, progression of cervical dysplasia may be more rapid, severity of disease increased, particularly for women with HIV-related immunocompromise. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added invasive cervical cancer as an AIDS-defining condition. Vulvovaginal candidiasis, sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis, herpes, and cytomegalovirus, and pelvic inflammatory disease are also common in HIV-infected women. Preliminary data suggest that these conditions may be more severe and more difficult to treat in HIV-infected women than uninfected women. Women who are HIV-infected should have thorough evaluation and follow up of all gynecologic conditions, particularly as they become immunosuppressed.
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We have analyzed the molecular components of cytoplasmic microtubules in situ in several types of cultured cells. Our approach makes use of preparations of detergent-extracted cytoskeletons that contain the original cellular microtubules. Identification of microtubule components is based on two criteria: their presence in the cytoskeleton preparations is dependent upon the presence of intact microtubules, and they are released from such preparations by buffers that depolymerize microtubules. Proteins that meet these criteria are described. Some of them are restricted to cells of certain species or tissues of origin. Others appear to be of widespread distribution. Among the latter is a protein homologous to one of the tau polypeptides in brain microtubule protein.
We prepared the cytoskeletal framework by gently extracting cells with Triton X-100. Lipids and soluble proteins were removed, leaving a complex meshlike structure which contains the cell nucleus and is composed of the major cell filament networks as well as the microtrabeculae with attached polyribosomes. The surface sheet or lamina covering this structure contains most of the cell surface proteins by the following criteria. Intact cells are labeled externally with radioiodine and then extracted with detergent. The iodinated poteins remain almost entirely with skeletal framework. A new major integral protein, the coat protein of Sindbis virus, is inserted into the plasma membrane of infected cells. This new protein is heavily iodinated and remains almost completely associated with the framework after extraction. Lectin binding and poliovirus binding sites are also retained after detergent extraction. Our results indicate that plasma membrane proteins form a sheet or lamina upon removal of lipids. This lamina reproduces even complex surface convolutions and appears to be supported by and intimately connected to the underlying skeleton. In this case, the surface lamina, and hence the plasma membrane of the original intact cell, might be viewed as a component of the cytoskeletal framework.