[Efficiency of bone marrow aspirate for diagnosis of opportunistic infections in HIV infected patients].

AIDS is the first cause of opportunistic infections. The objective of the present study was the evaluation of the efficiency of bone marrow aspirate (BMA) for diagnosis of opportunistic infections in HIV infected patients with prolonged fever. Charts from 92 patients with BMA from 1992 to 1994 were reviewed. Diagnosis was achieved in 14.1% of cases. Diagnosis cannot be made by other methods in six leishmaniasis and in two disseminated tuberculosis. The sensibility was of 33.3% for mycobacterial infections, the sensibility of hemoculture was of 50%. The hemoglobin level was lower for patients with diagnostic BMA than for patients with not diagnostic BMA (77 g/l vs 97 g/l, p < 0.0004). The WBC counts was not different in both groups of patients, and platelets counts was greater in patients with BMA diagnostic (165 x 10(9)/l vs 102 x 10(9)/l, p < 0.001). In the patients with hemoglobin lower than 100 g/l the diagnostic efficiency was 18.6% (11 of 59 cases). The BMA was unprofitable in HIV infected patients with prolonged fever without hemocytopenias. Profitability increase in patients with hemoglobin lower than 100 g/l. The BMA in useful for leishmania identification. The hemoculture has greater sensitivity than BMA for the diagnosis of mycobacterial disseminated infection.