IDIOPATHIC MIDESOPHAGEAL STRICTURE - A NEW CAUSE OF DYSPHAGIA IN A PATIENT WITH AIDS

A number of disorders may result in the complaint of dysphagia in HIV- infected patients. These include fungal, viral, bacterial, parasitic, medication-induced, and idiopathic lesions in the esophagus. In the cu rrent case, a 32-year-old man with advanced HIV infection had recurren t bouts of esophageal stricture. No ulcer was associated with this str icture, No infectious causes of the stricture could be determined. The patient required multiple upper endoscopies and dilatations for treat ment of this stricture and subsequently had a food impaction, This is the first case in the medical literature of an idiopathic stricture in the middle portion of the esophagus in an HIV-infected patient. We po stulate that this lesion may have been caused by the patient's medicat ions, Esophageal strictures should be considered in HIV-infected patie nts with severe dysphagia or food-bolus impactions of the esophagus.