PARAPNEUMONIC EFFUSIONS SECONDARY TO COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED BACTERIAL PNEUMONIA IN HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS-INFECTED PATIENTS

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the clinical and mi crobiological characteristics of parapneumonic effusions in patients w ith community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) infected with the human immunod eficiency virus (HIV) were different from those observed in patients w ithout HIV infection, One hundred and thirty seven patients with parap neumonic effusions were included and divided into two groups depending on whether they had HN infection or not, The parapneumonic effusion r ate was significantly higher in HIV-positive than in noninfected patie nts (21 vs 13%). Their clinical course was more severe, presenting a h igher rate of baeteraemias (58 vs 18%), Pleural fluid in patients infe cted with HIV had significantly lower glucose levels than that of pati ents without EW infection, Chest tube drainage was more frequent in pa rapneumonic effusions of patients infected with HIV than in those with out HN infection (71 vs 44%), Staphylococcus aureus was the most commo n microorganism found in the bacteriological samples of patients with CAP infected with HIV (53 vs 12%), We conclude that patients with comm unity-acquired pneumonia and HIV infection have a higher rate of parap neumonic effusions and a more severe clinical course than non-HN patie nts, and that Staphylococcus aureus predominates in their bacteriologi cal samples.