A comparative study of transfusion-acquired human immunodeficiency virus-infected children with and without disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex.

For identification of the features of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (DMAC) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children, a retrospective medical record review of 31 long-term survivors with transfusion-acquired HIV was conducted. Nine patients developed DMAC defined as positive isolation of M. avium complex from peripheral blood. DMAC was diagnosed in patients 51 to 132 months of age (mean, 101). The time from HIV-infecting transfusion to DMAC diagnosis ranged from 37 to 132 months (mean, 92) and survival from the time of DMAC diagnosis ranged from 4 to 21 months (mean, 10). Selected laboratory and clinical measures in DMAC-positive and DMAC-negative subjects were compared. DMAC-positive patients had significantly lower CD4+ T cell counts and higher HIV p24 antigen concentrations than DMAC-negative patients at comparable times. Increased percentages of circulating leukocyte band forms and increased aspartate aminotransferase values were seen more often in DMAC-positive patients. Fever and abdominal pain were the only clinical features seen more often in DMAC-positive than in DMAC-negative patients. At the end of the study period overall survival of DMAC-positive patients was less than that of DMAC-negative children, at 33% vs. 73%. DMAC occurs in profoundly immunocompromised children with advanced HIV disease and significantly affects survival. The clinical and laboratory features of DMAC are relatively nonspecific and a high index of suspicion in patients with markedly reduced CD4+ T cells is essential.