Pulmonary Rhodococcosis : An Unrecognized Pulmonary Infection In Aids Patients

March 20th, 2008 · No Comments

Mahidol University Annual Research Abstracts 2000 229 PULMONARY RHODOCOCCOSIS : AN UNRECOGNIZED PULMONARY INFECTION IN AIDS PATIENTS Athavudh Deesomchok¹, Kittipong Maneechotsuwan¹, Somporn Srifuengfung², Surapol Suwanagool³ ¹Department of Medicine,²Department of Microbiology, ³Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Pulmonary rhodococcosis is an uncommon pulmonary infection in human beings, but the case reports have been increasing in HIV-infected patients. We report a female AIDS patient presenting with fever, productive cough and weight loss over 6 weeks. Chest x-ray showed a cavitary lesion with air fluid level in the right upper lobe infiltration. Sputa for AFB stain were negative for 3 consecutive days. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was performed and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was examined. It showed a gram-positive, weakly acid-fast coccobacilli. The culture grew only Rhodococcus equi. She was treated with erythromycin and rifampin and responded well.

(Siriraj Hosp Gaz 1999; 51: 284-8)

ROLE OF MATERNAL HUMORAL IMMUNITY IN VERTICAL TRANSMISSION OF HIV-1 SUBTYPE E IN THAILAND S. Louisirirotchanakul¹, S. Beddows¹, R. Cheingsong¹, N. Shaffer², T.D. Mastro², S. Likanonsakul³, C. Wasi⁴, G.P. Taylor¹, and J. Weber¹

¹Imperial College School of Medicine at St. Mary’s London, UK; ²The HIV/AIDS Collaboration, Nonthaburi, Thailand, and Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA; ³Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Hospital, Nonthaburi, Thailand; and ⁴Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Key words : HIV-1 Antibody Vertical transmission Binding and neutralizing Subtypes B and E Hemodilution.

The significance of the meternal humoral immune response in relation to vertical transmission of HIV-1 was investigated in 123 mothers infected with subtype E from Thailand. Antibody binding titers to HIV-1 env domains (monomeric gp120, the CD4/gp120 binding site [BS]. V3 loop, and gp41) and antibody-mediated neutralization of primary and T-cell line-adapted (TCLA) subtypes B and E HIV-1 antibodies at delivery and vertical transmission of HIV-1 subtype E was found. However, a trend to higher titer antibody-mediated cross-neutralization of a heterologous subtype B TCLA isolate, HIV-1_MN, was observed in nontransmitting mothers postpartum. The HIV-1-specific antibody titers in these infected mothers increased significantly from delivery to 6 months postpartum (p<0.05), but this was only partially attributable to hemodilution and an additional factor or factors appear to affect humoral immunity to HIV-1 during late pregnancy.

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