[Treatment of esophageal candidiasis with fluconazole in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Comparative study of 2 therapeutic schemes]

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the efficacy and pharmacological safety of 2 therapeutic trials with fluconazole in candida esophagitis in AIDS patients.

METHODS

A total of 75 episodes of candida esophagitis in 70 AIDS patients were included in an open prospective study. In group I 36 patients were included who received 200 mg of fluconazole orally the first day followed by 100 mg daily for 4 weeks. In group II (34 patients) the length of treatment was reduced to 10 days with the same daily doses. Therapeutic response was evaluated by esophagoscopy, biopsy and fungal culture.

RESULTS

The protocol was completed at 68 episodes with a cure being obtained in all but 2 patients in group II. No significant differences in clinical response were found between the 2 groups. The incidence of oropharyngeal colonization at the end of treatment was greater in patients from group I than from group II (43% vs 11%). Fluconazole was well tolerated in all the patients. A slight alteration of the hepatic enzymes was observed in 29 cases (40%) with a lower incidence in the shorter time group (p less than 0.001), however, treatment was discontinued only in 1 patient because of severe asymptomatic hepatic dysfunction to which a relation with the drug is unclear.

CONCLUSIONS

Fluconazole in an efficient and safe agent in the treatment of candida esophagitis in AIDS patients. A 10 day treatment is a useful as longer treatment and has a lower risk of adverse effects.

[Secondary prevention of esophageal candidiasis with fluconazole in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]

In order to evaluate the efficacy of 200 mg single weekly dose of fluconazole in the secondary prophylaxis of esophageal candidiasis in AIDS, 18 patients who had an endoscopic confirmation of cure after an esophageal candidiasis, were studied. Mean follow up period was 12.5 months (limit: 1.5-18) and 11 patients completed prophylaxis for 11.2 months (limit: 2-18). Fluconazole was interrupted in the 7 remaining patients due to different reasons after 10 months and they were followed for 3.2 more months (limit: 1-5). Ten patients relapsed with a total of 17 episodes (7 oropharyngeal and 10 esophageal). Only 4 of the 18 patients (22%) relapsed while on correct prophylactic treatment. On the other hand, 6 out of 7 patients (86%) relapsed in the absence of fluconazole (p less than 0.001). The relapse incidence rate in both groups was 0.09 and 1.46/100 patients/day respectively (p less than 0.001) and its appearance was much earlier (1.3 versus 9.5 months) in patients not receiving prophylaxis. Relapses did not correlate with CD4 cell level, HIV-Ag level, opportunistic infections, use of other drugs or mortality. Fluconazole was interrupted in 3 patients because of alternations in liver enzymes although its relationship with the drug was not confirmed. These results indicate that the administration of Fluconazole 200 mg/week in a single dose is very efficiency in secondary prophylaxis of esophageal candidiasis in AIDS patients.

Anticardiolipin antibodies in patients from Malaysia with systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is highly prevalent in Malaysia, which has a mixed population of Malays, Chinese, and Indians. A quantitative enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) levels (total immunoglobulin, IgG, and IgM) in 200 patients with SLE (164 Chinese, 26 Malay, and 10 Indian) attending the University Hospital of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and 103 matched controls. Only 33 (16.5%) of the patients had raised aCL levels; 26 had raised IgG aCL, five IgM aCL, and two both IgG and IgM aCL. There was a low prevalence of raised levels of aCL in the population studied, which was seen in conjunction with a rare occurrence of thrombosis. The classical association of high aCL levels with thrombocytopenia and recurrent abortions was noted, though not with cerebral disease. The low prevalence of aCL in this study population of mixed racial origin contrasts with findings in European patients with SLE and lends support to the influence of local factors, be they genetic or environmental, on the clinical manifestations of this disease.

Prevalence & clinical associations of anticardiolipin antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in India

Anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) screening using an ELISA technique, in 76 patients of Indian origin with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), showed aCL in 27.63 per cent of patients. This prevalence was much lower than that reported in the Western population. The presence of aCL showed positive correlations with recurrent abortions and organic neurological lesions seen in SLE.

Magnetic resonance imaging in Behçet's disease

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Infective endocarditis, rheumatoid factor, and anticardiolipin antibodies

Serum samples from 22 patients with infective endocarditis were analysed for the presence of antibodies to cardiolipin, false positive Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, and rheumatoid factor in order to determine the prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies, their level, and to ascertain whether there was any correlation with the presence of rheumatoid factor. Although the latex test was positive in 10/22 (45%) patients, anticardiolipin antibodies, usually of a low level, were raised in only four (18%), and the VDRL test was positive in two patients in whom other antibodies were negative. These results show a clear discordance between these three tests, indicating that B cell production of these antibodies is separate and distinct. As with other infections which result in anticardiolipin antibody production, no thrombotic events were encountered.

[Multi-infarct dementia associated with antiphospholipid antibodies. Presentation of 2 cases]

Two patients with positive antiphospholipid antibody and early multi-infarction dementia as a presenting feature of their illness are reported. One was included in the so called primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, while the second one met the criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus. We point out to the presence of aortic regurgitation in one of the patients and its possible relation with these antibodies. Although the precise mechanism of thrombosis is incompletely known, the recognition of this type of dementia is of paramount importance as it is a potentially treatable condition.

Relationship between anti-cardiolipin and anti-endothelial cell antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus

Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) have been detected in 51 lupus sera by cell surface radioimmunoassay with a prevalence of 39.2% for IgG and 45.1% for IgM-AECA. No correlations were found between AECA and different clinical or laboratory parameters, including the presence of anti-cardiolipin antibodies and signs associated with the presence of anti-phospholipid antibodies. However, absorption with cardiolipin liposomes partially inhibited endothelial cell binding, and affinity purified anti-cardiolipin antibodies were able to react with intact human endothelial cells. The binding did not occur via Fc receptors since blocking of Fc receptors with rabbit IgG did not affect the endothelial cell reactivity. Taken together our findings support the hypothesis that antibodies directed against negatively charged phospholipids can be part of the anti-endothelial cell antibodies in certain lupus sera. The possible role of these cross-reacting antibodies in the pathogenesis of vascular thrombosis in lupus patients is discussed.