Disseminated Acanthamoeba sinusitis in a patient with AIDS: a possible role for early antiretroviral therapy

Acanthamoeba, a free-living ameba, has been reported to infect humans with subacute encephalitis, sinusitis, or keratitis. Multiple cases of Acanthamoeba sinusitis with dissemination have been reported in association with AIDS, with high mortality. We report successful treatment of a 35-year-old wom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe AIDS reader Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 41
Main Authors Carter, Wendy W, Gompf, Sandra G, Toney, John F, Greene, John N, Cutolo, Edward P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.2004
Subjects
Acanthamoeba - physiology
Adult
AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - diagnosis
AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - mortality
AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - therapy
Amebiasis - diagnosis
Amebiasis - mortality
Amebiasis - therapy
Animals
Antifungal Agents - therapeutic use
Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
Biopsy
CD4 Lymphocyte Count
Combined Modality Therapy
Debridement
Fatal Outcome
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Sinusitis - diagnosis
Sinusitis - mortality
Sinusitis - therapy
Survival Rate
Time Factors
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:Acanthamoeba, a free-living ameba, has been reported to infect humans with subacute encephalitis, sinusitis, or keratitis. Multiple cases of Acanthamoeba sinusitis with dissemination have been reported in association with AIDS, with high mortality. We report successful treatment of a 35-year-old woman who presented with sinusitis that progressed to disseminated acanthamebiasis as her initial manifestation of AIDS. To our knowledge, our patient was one of the few and longest-lived survivors of disseminated Acanthamoeba infection with AIDS. As with other opportunistic infections, early aggressive therapy including HAART may alter the outcome in this almost uniformly fatal disease.
ISSN:1053-0894