Proficiency of transient elastography compared to liver biopsy for the assessment of fibrosis in HIV/HBV-coinfected patients.

Transient elastography (TE) is a noninvasive technique to evaluate liver fibrosis. We compared the performance of TE with liver biopsy (LB) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection. Patients prospectively underwent TE and LB. The diagnosis accuracy of TE was calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for different stages of fibrosis, and optimal cut-off values were defined. A sequential algorithm combining TE with biochemical score (Fibrotest) is proposed. Fifty-seven patients had both TE and LB (median time: 3 days) and two with proven cirrhosis, only TE. Forty-six (78%) were under antiretroviral therapy with anti-HBV drugs in 98%, and 19 (32%) had elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT). A significant correlation was observed between liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and METAVIR fibrosis stages (P < 0.0001). Patients with elevated ALT tended to have higher LSM than those with normal ALT. The areas under the ROC curves were 0.85 for significant fibrosis (≥ F2), 0.92 for advanced fibrosis (≥ F3) and 0.96 for cirrhosis. Using a cut-off of 5.9 kPa for F ≥ 2 and 7.6 kPa for F ≥ 3, the diagnosis accuracy was 83% and 86%, respectively. With an algorithm combining TE and Fibrotest, 97% of patients were well classified for significant fibrosis. Using this algorithm, the need for LB can be reduced by 67%. In HIV/HBV-coinfected patients, most of them with normal ALT under antiretroviral treatment including HBV active drugs, TE was proficient in discriminating moderate to severe fibrosis from minimal liver disease.

[Spinal cord toxoplasmosis in HIV infection]. / Toxoplasmose médullaire au cours de l'infection à VIH.

We report the case of an atypical localization of a spinal cord "toxoplasmic abscess". The 46-year-old patient, HIV-1 positive, was admitted for acute urine retention and gait disorders. MRI revealed a T12-L1 medullary lesion suggesting a tumoral, inflammatory and infectious pathology. The radiological aspect and immunosuppression lead to the initiation of a treatment against Toxoplasma gondii, following the same treatment principles as for cerebral toxoplasmosis. The diagnosis can only be proved by data from autopsy or surgical biopsy, but toxoplasmosis PCR on CSF seems to be an interesting alternative to confirm the diagnosis. According to the literature, PCR is not sensitive enough as a diagnostic tool. Improvement after treatment supported the diagnosis confirmed by PCR.

Disseminated nontuberculous infections with Mycobacterium genavense during sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a chronic disease characterised by the development and accumulation of granulomas in multiple organs. We report two observations of disseminated Mycobacterium genavense infection in patients with proven sarcoidosis. High fever and abdominal pain appeared at 8 and 18 months following the initiation of immunosuppressive therapy. Abdominal computed tomography scans of the patients showed diffuse mesenteric lymphadenitis and splenomegaly. The diagnosis was obtained on bone marrow specimens for both patients with numerous acid-fast bacteria at direct examination and positive specific mycobacterial identification by nucleic acid amplification test. Despite prompt antimycobacterial therapy, occurrence of complications (peritonitis post-splenectomy surgery and lung carcinoma) resulted in a fatal outcome for both patients. These cases highlight that opportunistic infections like M. genavense or other nontuberculous mycobacterial infections should be considered for long-standing immunocompromised patients with sarcoidosis.

Diffusion-weighted imaging in brain aspergillosis.

Brain aspergillosis is a rare pathology, occurring mainly in immunocompromised patients, responsible for multiple cerebral septic infarctions. Some researchers have described magnetic resonance (MR) findings in cerebral invasive aspergillosis, but diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has rarely been reported, especially in typical non-enhancing lesions, while it may be helpful for early differential diagnosis and may allow earlier antifungal treatment. We describe three cases of patients presenting brain aspergillosis, with MR imaging including diffusion-weighted sequences and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) cartography. The three patients described in this study presented a total of 23 circular lesions, and one patient presented an infarction area in the territory of the right middle cerebral artery. Lesions were ring-enhancing for one patient, and presented no enhancement for the other two. Eleven lesions were very bright on DWI, with reduced ADC values. Twelve lesions, either enhancing or not enhancing, presented a 'target-like' aspect with central and peripheral hypointense areas on DWI, corresponding to higher ADC value areas, and intermediate marked hypersignal on DWI. This typical aspect of aspergillosis lesions on DWI may allow early diagnosis and treatment of cerebral aspergillosis, and is helpful for differentiating aspergillosis lesions from other infectious or malignant lesions affecting immunocompromised patients.

[Factitious disorder revealed by polymicrobial septic arthritis of a lumbar facet joint diagnosed by percutaneous biopsy]. / Pathomimie révélée par une arthrite septique interapophysaire postérieure polymicrobienne: diagnostic par biopsie percutanée.

Septic arthritis of a lumbar facet joint is rare with few reports in the literature. Clinically, septic arthritis of a lumbar facet joint can mimic spondylodiscitis. Imaging is usually required for diagnosis. Bacteriological diagnosis is needed to optimize treatment with antibiotics. Most of the previously reported cases were due to staphylococcus aureus. We report one case due to rare bacteria which lead to a diagnosis of factitious disorder. Precise bacteriological diagnosis was obtained by CT-guided percutaneous biopsy.

[Evaluation of allergic-type reactions to antibiotics and rapid immunotherapy]. / Bilan des réactions de type allergique aux antibiotiques et accoutumance rapide.

Adverse effects of medications, most notably antimicrobials, are becoming increasingly common and raise difficult challenges in the area of clinical pattern definition (wide variety of symptoms, polypharmacy in many cases), diagnosis, and methodology (need for a rapid diagnosis, frequent obscurity of causative mechanisms, and less than ideal reliability of laboratory techniques). Sixty patients were treated by rush immunotherapy to one or more antimicrobials. The pretreatment evaluation included oriented history taking, skin tests, blood cell counts, IgE assays, and cell activation tests (basophils and lymphocytes). The results of this study confirm the usefulness of skin tests (intradermal, prick, or patch tests), which provided etiological orientation in 54 of the 60 cases. They also provide additional evidence of the lack of reliability of currently available in vitro tests (only 29 of the 60 tests were positive).

Detection of Pneumocystis carinii DNA in blood specimens from human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients by nested PCR.

The detection of Pneumocystis carinii DNA in blood by PCR could be useful for studying the natural history of pneumocystosis and could also be a noninvasive diagnostic method. The results of previous studies are nevertheless conflicting. In our study, we compared three commercially available DNA extraction kits (GeneReleaser, QIAamp Tissue Kit, and ReadyAmp Genomic DNA Purification System) and proteinase K and proteinase K-phenol-chloroform treatments for the extraction of P. carinii DNA from dilutions of a P. carinii f. sp. hominis cyst suspension mixed with human whole blood. A rapid and simple nested PCR protocol which amplifies a portion of the mitochondrial large-subunit rRNA gene was applied to all the extraction products. The QIAmp Tissue Kit was the most effective kit for the isolation of amplification-ready P. carinii DNA and was used with nested PCR for the testing of whole-blood specimens from 35 immunocompetent control patients and 84 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients investigated for pulmonary disease and/or fever. In HIV-infected patients, P. carinii DNA was detected by nested PCR in blood samples from 3 of 14 patients with microscopically proven P. carinii pneumonia, 7 of 22 patients who were considered to be colonized with P. carinii, and 9 of 48 patients who were neither infected nor colonized with P. carinii. P. carinii DNA was not detected in blood specimens from the 35 immunocompetent patients. P. carinii DNA in blood might represent viable P. carinii organisms or DNA complexes released from pulmonary phagocytes. In conclusion, P. carinii DNA may be detected in whole blood from HIV-infected patients, but the nature and the meaning of the circulating form of P. carinii remain to be established.

Rapid detection of Pneumocystis carinii in bronchoalveolar lavage specimens from human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients: use of a simple DNA extraction procedure and nested PCR.

We report on the development of a rapid nested PCR protocol for the detection of Pneumocystis carinii DNA in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens in which the protocol included the use of a commercially available DNA extraction kit (GeneReleaser). GeneReleaser enabled us to obtain amplification-ready DNA within 20 min without requiring the purification of the DNA. The nested PCR was performed with the primers pAZ102-E, pAZ102-H, and pAZ102-L2 (A. E. Wakefield, F. J. Pixley, S. Banerji, K. Sinclair, R. F. Miller, E. R. Moxon, and J. M. Hopkin, Lancet 336:451-453, 1990.). Results were obtained in about 4 h with the adoption of denaturation, annealing, and extension steps shortened to 20 seconds. The sensitivity of the nested PCR was tested with a P. carinii cyst suspension and was found to be less than one cyst (one to eight nuclei). The detection limit was the same with the use of GeneReleaser or proteinase K-phenol chloroform for DNA extraction. The nested PCR assay was prospectively compared with staining with Giemsa and methenamine silver stains for the detection of P. carinii in 127 BAL samples from 105 human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients investigated for acute respiratory illness. Twenty-five BAL specimens (20%) were positive by staining and the nested PCR and 25 (20%) were negative by staining and positive by the nested PCR. These 25 BAL specimens with conflicting results were obtained from 23 patients, 82% of whom were receiving prophylactic therapy against P. carinii pneumonia (PCP). Only two patients were diagnosed with possible PCP. The final diagnosis was not PCP for 20 patients who were considered to be colonized or to have a low level of infection. This colonization is not of clinical importance but is of epidemiological importance. Our rapid, simple, and sensitive amplification protocol may be performed in clinical laboratories for the routine diagnosis of PCP with BAL specimens.

Malignant boutonneuse fever and polymyalgia rheumatica: a coincidental association?

Mediterranean spotted fever is a tick-borne disease that is endemic in the Mediterranean basin from spring to autumn. Usually mild, the disease can be severe in some cases, especially when risk factors are encountered in patients or when treatment is delayed. The correlation between these malignant forms and patients' immunological disorders remains unclear, while the pathophysiology of the disease seems well known. A case of a malignant form of Mediterranean spotted fever is reported which occurred 2 months prior to the diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica. Evidence of immunological disorders consisted only in an antiphospholipid antibody associated with a transient lupus anticoagulant. No underlying risk factors other than the primary undiagnosed phase of polymyalgia rheumatica has been observed.

[Actinomyces meyeri disseminated actinomycosis disclosing pulmonary carcinoma]. / Actinomycose disséminée à Actinomyces meyeri révélatrice d'un carcinome pulmonaire.

The diagnosis of severe actinomycosis parallel to that of neoplasia leads to speculation of a possible fortuitous association. Because underlying conditions such as immuno-suppression are suspected in such disease, and to strengthen this hypothesis, we report one more case of disseminated actinomycosis associated with a malignant disease, namely an epidermoid pulmonary carcinoma. The diagnosis was made by thoracotomy a few months after the infectious episode. Two years later the patient recovered. The analysis of the literature data is in favor of a fortuitous association between both diagnoses.

Measurement by the polymerase chain reaction of the Epstein-Barr virus load in infectious mononucleosis and AIDS-related non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) sequences in various clinical samples, especially peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) and serum, was carried out and the results obtained were compared with specific EBV serology. One hundred seventy patients were enrolled in the study: 89 healthy blood donors, 22 asymptomatic patients, 36 individuals with primary EBV infection (including 19 patients with infectious mononucleosis [IM]), 22 HIV-infected subjects (including 4 with hairy oral leukoplakia, 3 with central nervous disorders, and 15 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma). All the serum samples from the healthy blood donors were negative. In patients with IM and in AIDS-non Hodgkin's lymphoma (ARNHL), PCR was strongly positive in leukocytes (> 2,000 genome equivalents/10(4) cells), which was correlated with detectable amounts of EBV DNA in serum. The overall positivity rate of PCR in serum was 58.8%, 68%, and 73% of cases for non-IM primary EBV infections, IM, and ARNHL, respectively. In two cases of EBV primary infection, the viral DNA was detected in serum, respectively 1 month and 2 months before IgM positivity and IgG rise. In one case of ARNHL followed up for several months, PCR (viral load of 2,000 genome equivalents/10(4) cells) became positive concurrently with appearance of lymphoma. In immunocompromised individuals, PCR EBV, if carried out in larger prospective studies, could be considered as a tumor marker, useful for predicting EBV-driven lymphoma and follow-up therapy.

[Ileocolitis caused by Herpes simplex virus type 2]. / Iléo-colite herpétique à virus Herpes simplex de type 2.

The authors report the case of a 51-year-old woman who was hospitalized for severe acute colitis. Sub-total colectomy was performed, due to clinical deterioration and resistance to treatment. The examination of the surgery specimen revealed a herpes-virus type 2 as the responsible pathogen agent. Complementary aciclovir treatment cured the patient.