RESUMEN
To assess the clinical significance of splenic tuberculosis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1, we compared 20 patients who had splenic tuberculosis with 20 randomly selected, HIV-infected patients with culture-proven tuberculosis for whom splenic involvement had been ruled out by ultrasonography. All of the patients were male prison inmates and intravenous drug users. Statistically significant differences (P < .05) were detected between patients with splenic involvement (median CD4+ cell count, 54/mm3) and those without splenic involvement (median CD4+ cell count, 92/mm3). No specific symptoms suggesting splenic involvement were detected in the patients with splenic tuberculosis. All patients received antituberculous drugs, and none of these patients required splenectomy. The median survival was similar in both groups. Splenic tuberculosis occurs in more-severely immunocompromised HIV-infected patients, the prognosis is generally good, the clinical response to therapy is usually favorable, and splenectomy is rarely necessary.
Asunto(s)
Infecciones por VIH/complicaciones , Tuberculosis Esplénica/etiología , Recuento de Linfocito CD4 , Humanos , Masculino , Abuso de Sustancias por Vía Intravenosa/complicaciones , Tuberculosis Esplénica/tratamiento farmacológicoRESUMEN
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of transmission of tuberculosis in a large prison population over an 18-mo period. Restriction-fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was performed, using the insertion sequence IS6110 and the plasmid pTBN12. Patients infected with strains having the same fingerprint were grouped in clusters. Medical records were reviewed and movement of inmates among prisons was examined for selected patients. Tuberculosis was diagnosed in 216 inmates (case rate = 2,283 per 100,000 per year). Isolates from 210 (97%) patients were fingerprinted, 155 (74%) were grouped in 25 clusters, and 55 (26%) showed a unique fingerprint. Recent infection was inferred in 62% of these patients. Eighty-four percent (161 of 192) of patients tested were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive, of whom 121 were in clusters and 40 were not (p = 0.74). Patients in clusters were less adherent with tuberculosis treatment than those not in clusters (p < 0.05), and prison transmission of resistant strains was observed. It is crucial that infection control guidelines be fully implemented in the prison setting to prevent tuberculosis transmission.