RESUMO
The computed tomographic (CT) scans of 10 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who had central nervous system (CNS) involvement by cytomegalovirus (CMV) were retrospectively reviewed and correlated with clinical data and pathologic findings. Diagnosis was established in all 10 patients by autopsy, which showed the pathognomonic "owl's eye" intracellular inclusions of CMV. In six patients CMV caused an initial CNS infection that was directly responsible for the patient's progressive encephalopathy and death. In four patients CMV caused a superimposed nondominant CNS infection that had no clinical expression in two. Cortical atrophy and mild hydrocephalus ex vacuo were seen on CT in all 10 patients. Positive findings on CT that could be attributed to infection with CMV were present in only three of the 10 patients, and in these three symptomatic cases autopsy correlation revealed that CT underestimated the degree of CNS involvement. In the other three symptomatic patients, CT showed no parenchymal abnormalities, while autopsy demonstrated diffuse cerebral involvement. In the four patients whose CNS was secondarily involved by CMV, CT showed changes proven at autopsy to be related only to the dominant infection with Toxoplasma gondii and to postoperative hematomas. CT did not demonstrate any abnormalities at the sites of CMV involvement, which were found at autopsy in this latter group. It was concluded that CT is not very sensitive for the detection of CMV encephalitis.
Assuntos
Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida/diagnóstico por imagem , Encéfalo/diagnóstico por imagem , Infecções por Citomegalovirus/diagnóstico por imagem , Encefalite/diagnóstico por imagem , Tomografia Computadorizada por Raios X , Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida/complicações , Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida/patologia , Adulto , Encéfalo/patologia , Citomegalovirus , Infecções por Citomegalovirus/complicações , Infecções por Citomegalovirus/patologia , Encefalite/microbiologia , Encefalite/patologia , Feminino , Florida , Haiti/etnologia , Homossexualidade , Humanos , Espectroscopia de Ressonância Magnética , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Papillomaviridae , Polyomaviridae , Estudos Retrospectivos , Toxoplasma , Infecções Tumorais por Vírus/diagnóstico por imagemRESUMO
We evaluated clinical features of five cases of Toxoplasma encephalitis (TE) occurring in recent Haitian entrants into the United States. None of the patients had any underlying malignancy or known immunosuppressive therapy. Histopathologic findings of TE at autopsy were confirmed by peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. Four patients had an antecedent episode of disseminated tuberculosis and all five were receiving antituberculous therapy when neurologic manifestations of lethargy, seizures, and motor weakness first developed. These symptoms progressed into coma and death within 15 days. Peripheral lymphocytopenia was noted in all patients; three were anergic. Parenchymal lesions were identified by CT brain scans and total proteins were elevated in spinal fluid in all cases. TE appears to be a manifestation of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Haitians; it should be suspected in those with a febrile illness and multiple focal lesions of the central nervous system.
Assuntos
Encefalite/epidemiologia , Toxoplasmose/epidemiologia , Adulto , Encéfalo/patologia , Encefalite/complicações , Encefalite/patologia , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Toxoplasmose/complicações , Toxoplasmose/patologia , Tuberculose/complicações , Estados Unidos , Índias Ocidentais/etnologiaRESUMO
Twenty-one (100%) Haitians and 42 (21.5%) of 192 native black Americans autopsied in a 33-month period at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, were included in this review. All autopsied materials were examined. Among the Haitians autopsied, infectious diseases accounted for 11 (52%) of 21 deaths. Toxoplasma encephalitis was the leading cause of death (five cases). Other infectious causes of death included disseminated cryptococcosis (one), disseminated cytomegalovirus diseases (one), Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (one), chronic active hepatitis B (two), and bacterial pneumonia (one). Malignant neoplasms were also found to be causes of death and these included a single cases of each of the following: adenocarcinoma of the lung, multiple myeloma, diffuse histiocytic lymphoma, hepatoma, and Kaposi's sarcoma. Deaths of the remaining cases were due to hypertensive cardiovascular diseases (two), rheumatic heart disease (one), glomerulonephritis (one), and intimal fibroplasia of coronary arteries (one). Seven Haitian cases fulfilled the Centers for Disease Control case definition for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). For comparison, autopsies of black Americans were chosen from conditions that would most likely predispose them to opportunistic infections. Among the autopsies on black Americans there were no cases of opportunistic infections or Kaposi's sarcoma that were considered to be consistent with the AIDS.
Assuntos
Infecções/mortalidade , Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida/mortalidade , Adulto , Idoso , Autopsia , Infecções Bacterianas/mortalidade , População Negra , Emigração e Imigração , Feminino , Florida , Haiti/etnologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Neoplasias/mortalidade , Toxoplasmose/mortalidade , Viroses/mortalidadeRESUMO
The clinical data, histologic findings, and computed tomographic (CT) abnormalities in eight adult Haitians with toxoplasma encephalitis were analyzed retrospectively. Diagnosis was established by identification of Toxoplasma gondii on autopsy in five and brain biopsy in three specimens and subsequently confirmed by the immunoperoxidase method. All these patients, six of whom had been in the United States for 24 months or less, had severe idiopathic immunodeficiency syndrome. All were lymphopenic and six were on treatment for tuberculosis when the toxoplasma encephalitis developed. All patients were studied with CT when they developed an altered mental status and fever associated with seizures and/or focal neurologic deficits. Scans before treatment showed multiple intraparenchymal lesions in seven and a single lesion in the thalamus in one. Ring and/or nodular enhancement of the lesions was found in six and hypodense areas in two. Progression of abnormalities occurred on serial studies. These CT findings that were best shown on axial and coronal thin-section double-dose contrast studies were useful but not diagnostically pathognomonic. In patients with similar clinical presentation CT is recommended to identify focal areas of involvement and to guide brain biopsy or excision so that prompt medical therapy of this often lethal infection can be instituted.