Certad Gabriela, Arenas-Pinto Alejandro, Pocaterra Leonor, Ferrara Giuseppe, Castro Julio, Bello Andreina, Núñez Luz
Cátedra de Parasitología, Escuela de Medicina José María Vargas, Universidad Central de Venezuela, San José Caracas, Venezuela.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2005 Jul;73(1):54-7.
A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis and its clinical and laboratory pattern in Venezuelan HIV-infected patients (N = 397). At enrollment, they underwent thorough clinical history and physical examination and provided stool specimens for the identification of Cryptosporidium sp. and other parasites. Cryptosporidium sp. was identified in 59 subjects (15%). This infection was strongly associated with acute and chronic diarrhea, weight loss, CD4(+) counts below 100 cells/mm(3), older age in patients with leukopenia, and more than 5 stools per day when CD4(+) counts were below 100 cells/mm(3). In addition, patients with Cryptosporidium infection were less likely to be coinfected with Isospora belli (OR = 0.05, P = 0.001). In fact, results of the current study confirm the worldwide importance of cryptosporidiosis as a clinically significant opportunistic infection associated with an advanced stage of immunosuppression.
