Chlamydia pneumoniae pneumonia with pleural effusion: diagnosis by culture.

A case of Chlamydia pneumoniae pneumonia with pleural effusion in an otherwise healthy 19-year-old man is described. Diagnosis was made by serologic means as well as by culture of both the nasopharynx and the pleural fluid.

Sexually transmitted diseases in HIV-infected persons.

It appears incontestable that there is a link between genital ulcer disease and HIV infection. On the one hand the natural history and response to therapy of syphilis, HSV-2, and chancroid are all modified by the immunosuppressive effects of HIV infection. On the other hand, HIV transmission is probably facilitated by the disruption of the normal epithelial barriers of the genital organs caused by these ulcerative infections. Information is somewhat less convincing that a similar association exists between the nonulcerative STDs (trichomonas, gonorrhea, chlamydial infections) and HIV. Conceptually, the mucosal inflammation associated with these infections might serve as a focus for HIV transmission. The available data, though suggestive, do not strongly support this contention. Theoretically though, even a small risk might potentially result in significant HIV transmission given the prevalence of nonulcerative STDs. These infectious processes do not appear to be markedly altered by HIV induced immunosuppression. The ability of HPV to cause dysplastic changes in cervical and anal tissue did not require the AIDS epidemic to come to light. In HIV infection, disruptions of immunoregulatory processes, which might ordinarily control the progression of potentially malignant cell lines, have created fertile ground for an increasing incidence of premalignant and malignant cytologic changes. The mutual impact these processes have or may have on one another requires that clinicians who care for patients with either HIV infection or with STDs should be thoroughly familiar with both and not consider them somehow exclusive of one another. Efforts toward the prevention and control of STDs should be considered important in the control and prevention of HIV transmission.

Pelvic inflammatory disease: an ongoing epidemic.

In the absence of a practical screening test, diagnosis is based on physical and laboratory findings, a strategy compromised by low sensitivity and specificity--and by asymptomatic cases. Antibiotic combinations must be directed against a wide range of pathogens, including Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis.

Treatment of syphilis, 1998: nonpregnant adults.

Questions regarding the appropriate therapy for syphilis remain, despite the many years during which this infection has been subjected to intense scientific scrutiny. In an effort to provide guidance for the development of the 1998 sexually transmitted disease (STD) treatment guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these questions were outlined and an effort to answer them was made. Articles relating to syphilis treatment published after the previous revision of the CDC STD treatment guidelines (in 1993) and by the end of 1996 were identified with use of MEDLINE. Abstracts from relevant scientific meetings held during that time were also examined. Reference was also made to older literature, and expert opinion was sought. Conclusions were reached and recommendations were made on the basis of published evidence wherever possible.

Management of chronic urethral symptoms in men.

We describe 20 men who were referred because of chronic urogenital symptoms. They had been previously seen by zero to six physicians (mean, 1.8 physicians) and had been treated with zero to five courses of antimicrobial agents (mean, 2.4 courses) without relief of their symptoms. Results of physical examinations of all patients were normal. An extensive evaluation failed to reveal any objective evidence of urethral inflammation. Cultures for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and Trichomonas vaginalis were uniformly negative. No additional antimicrobial agents were prescribed. Data from follow-up questionnaires filled out by 10 of these men 5-28 months later (mean, 11.8 months) disclosed the disappearance of symptoms in three and the reduction of symptoms in four. Chronic urethral symptoms may occur in the absence of objective evidence of inflammation and infection with known urethral pathogens. Observation without antimicrobial therapy is the treatment of choice for such patients.

Asymptomatic respiratory tract infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae TWAR.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a newly recognized organism associated with respiratory tract infections. Asymptomatic infection with C. pneumoniae, although it has been suggested to occur, has not been previously documented. We describe two asymptomatic individuals infected with this organism; these infections demonstrate that C. pneumoniae is able to establish a subclinical infection.

Isolation of Chlamydia pneumoniae from the lungs of patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is being recognized as a common cause of respiratory tract infections. Bronchoalveolar lavage specimens from human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients were examined by culture for this pathogen. Of 50 specimens examined, 5 (10%) were positive for C. pneumoniae. Four of these (80%) were also positive for other pathogens frequently implicated as causes of respiratory disease in this patient population. C. pneumoniae may frequently inhabit the respiratory tracts of human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals.

Biological false-positive syphilis test results for women infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Regardless of the nontreponemal test used for the screening and diagnosis of syphilis, biological false-positive results (BFPs) are documented in 1%-2% of all cases. An association between BFPs and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in men has been suggested. We conducted a cohort study to determine whether a similar association between HIV seropositivity and BFPs exists for women. Among 156 HIV-seropositive women, 9 (5.8%) had a BFP for syphilis. Among 633 HIV-seronegative women, only 1 (0.2%) had a BFP. When the 25 HIV-seropositive patients and 55 HIV-seronegative patients with reactive rapid plasma reagin tests and microhemagglutination assays for antibodies to Treponema pallidum were excluded from the calculations, 6.9% and 0.2% of HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative women, respectively, had BFPs (P < .001; odds ratio, 39.45; 95% confidence interval, 6.4-879.0). An association was found between injection drug use and BFPs for the population of HIV-infected women but did not entirely account for the differences between this group and the HIV-seronegative group.

A randomized trial of enhanced therapy for early syphilis in patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus infection. The Syphilis and HIV Study Group.

BACKGROUND: Reports of neurosyphilis and invasion of cerebrospinal fluid by Treponema pallidum in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have led to doubts about the adequacy of the recommended penicillin G benzathine therapy for early syphilis. METHODS: In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial, we assessed two treatments for early syphilis: 2.4 million units of penicillin G benzathine and that therapy enhanced with a 10-day course of amoxicillin and probenecid. The serologic and clinical responses of patients with and without HIV infection were studied during one year of follow-up. RESULTS: From 1991 through 1994, 541 patients were enrolled, including 101 patients (19 percent) who had HIV infection but differed little from the uninfected patients in their clinical presentations. The rates at which chancres and rashes resolved did not differ significantly according to treatment assignment or HIV status. Serologically defined treatment failures were more common among the HIV-infected patients. The single clinically defined treatment failure was in an HIV-infected patient. Rates of serologically defined treatment failure did not differ according to treatment group (18 percent at six months with usual therapy; 17 percent with enhanced therapy). T. pallidum was found at enrollment in the cerebrospinal fluid of 32 of 131 patients (24 percent) and after therapy in 7 of 35 patients tested. None had clinically evident neurosyphilis, and the rate of detection of T. pallidum did not differ according to HIV status. CONCLUSIONS: After treatment for primary or secondary syphilis, the HIV-infected patients responded less well serologically than the patients without HIV infection, but clinically defined failure was uncommon in both groups. Enhanced treatment with amoxicillin and probenecid did not improve the outcomes. Although T. pallidum was detected in cerebrospinal fluid before therapy in a quarter of the patients tested, such a finding did not predict treatment failure. The current recommendations for treating early syphilis appear adequate for most patients, whether or not they have HIV infection.