Resultados post mórtem e infecciones oportunistas en pacientes VIH-positivos de un hospital público del Perú

Abstract

ThereisapaucityofHIVautopsydatafromSouthAmericaandnonethatdocumentthepostmortemfindingsinpatients� with HIV/AIDS in Peru. Objectives: The purpose of this autopsy study was to determine the spectrum of opportunistic infections and the causes of mortality in HIV-positive patients at a public hospital in Lima. Material and methods: Clinico-epidemiological information regarding HIV infection in Peru is also reviewed. Sixteen HIV-related hospital post- mortems, performed between 1999-2004, were included in this retrospective analysis. Results: The primary cause of death was established in 12 patients: one died of neoplasia and 11 of infectious diseases, including 3 from pulmonary infection, 7 from disseminated infection, and 2 from central nervous system infection (one case had dual pathology). Opportunisticinfectionswereidentifiedin�14�cases,�comprisingcytomegalovirus,�histoplasmosis,�cryptococcosis,�toxo- plasmosis, Pneumocystis pneumonia, aspergillosis, tuberculosis, varicella zoster virus and cryptosporidiosis. Fourteen patients had at least one AIDS-related disease that had been neither clinically suspected nor diagnosed premortem. Moreover,�82%�ofthediagnosesdeemedofimportantclinicalsignificance, �hadnotbeensuspectedantemortem.�Con- clusions: The spectrum and frequency of certain opportunistic infections differed from other South American autopsy studies, highlighting the importance of performing HIV/AIDS postmortems in resource-limited countries where locally- specificdiseasepatternsmaybeobserved.