HYPERAMYLASEMIA IN ASYMPTOMATIC HIV PATIENTS

We studied serum amylase and its isoenzymes prospectively in 163 conse cutive asymptomatic patients, 149 men and 14 women, infected with HIV and attending an HIV out-patient clinic. Six patients were receiving d ideoxyinosine (DDI), a drug known to cause pancreatitis. No patient, h owever, had clinical signs suggestive of pancreatitis. Serum total amy lase was increased in 39 of 163 patients (24%), in 11 of whom (28%), t his was due to increased pancreatic (P) isoamylase alone, in 17 (42%) it was due to salivary (S) type alone and in six (17%) it was due to i ncrease of both P and S fractions. In five patients (13%), macroamylas e was detected. Pancreatic amylase was elevated in four of the six pat ients on DDI. The remaining two had macroamylase. Our results show tha t asymptomatic hyperamylasaemia is a common finding in HIV patients an d that it appears to be heterogenous, i.e. elevation may be due to inc rease in P or S, both enzyme fractions or macroamylase. The high incid ence of macroamylasaemia in HIV patients was an unexpected finding.