Bronchoscopic study on aetiology of chronic cough in HIV-infected adults with negative sputum smears for Mycobacterium tuberculosis at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi

• Published in: East African medical journal Vol. 83; no. 6; pp. 295 - 305
• Main Authors: Siika, A M, Chakaya, J M, Revathi, G, Mohamed, S S, Bhatt, K M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kenya 01.06.2006
• Subjects: Adult; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections; Bronchoscopy; Chronic Disease; Cough - diagnosis; Cough - microbiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Kenya; Male; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis - isolation & purification; Pneumocystis; Pneumocystis carinii - isolation & purification; Pneumocystis Infections - diagnosis; Pneumocystis Infections - microbiology; Pneumocystis Infections - physiopathology; Sputum - microbiology
• ISSN: 0012-835X; 0012-835X
• DOI: 10.4314/eamj.v83i6.9436

To establish the aetiology of chronic cough in HIV-infected patients with negative sputum smears for Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB). A cross-sectional descriptive study. Kenyatta National Hospital, a tertiary referral centre in Kenya Sixty five HIV-infected adults presenting with chronic cough and negative sputum smears for AFBs. Sixty-two patients were included in the final analysis. Aetiology of chronic cough was established in 42 (68%) patients. Pneumocystis jiroveci, bacterial pneumonia and Mycobacterium tuberculosis were diagnosed in 22 (35.5%), 17 (27.4%) and 14 (22.5%) patients respectively. Majority (98%) of patients with a diagnosis had multiple causes established in them. Ciprofloxacin had activity against 91% of the isolated organisms while Penicillin was active against 35% only. This study documents Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia as a common cause of morbidity in a subset of HIV infected patients with chronic cough and negative sputum smears for AFB in Kenya.