CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI BACTEREMIA IN HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS (HIV)-INFECTED AND NON-HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS - COMPARISON OF CLINICAL-FEATURES AND REVIEW

Clinical and bacteriologic features and clinical outcomes of culture-c onfirmed campylobacter bacteremia in 21 patients (including nine human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]-infected subjects and 12 non-HIV-infecte d subjects) were retrospectively evaluated and compared, This study hi ghlights differences between HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected individ uals, Campylobacter jejuni bacteremia in HIV-infected patients was fou nd to often be a severe, debilitating febrile illness requiring multip le and prolonged courses of antibiotic therapy. Extraintestinal featur es, particularly pulmonary involvement, were often observed, Celluliti s occurred in one patient. By contrast, in non-HIV-infected patients, the illness was generally an acute onset of fever associated with self -limiting enteritis, with fever resolving rapidly with antibiotic trea tment, Travel history (42% of cases) appeared to be a common risk fact or in the latter group. Two of these patients had cutaneous manifestat ions, thus suggesting that some strains may be more invasive, This stu dy suggests that campylobacter bacteremia is an important cause of mor bidity and mortality in HIV-infected individuals; the overall mortalit y rate among HIV-infected patients with bacteremia in this study was 3 3%, This is not the case for immunocompetent patients, in whom death r arely occurs.