Publication

Abstract : In this study, 50 HIV seropositive patients who attended the Pulmonary Medicine Clinic of a tertiary care teaching institute in western India were enrolled. Of these, 39 were men and 13 were women. The mean age of the study subjects at the time of diagnosis was 34.96 years. Heterosexual contact was the commonest mode of transmission in 34 (68%) patients, followed by blood transfusion in 9(18%). A history which was suggestive of a risk factor for HIV transmission could not be elicited in 7 (14%) patients. Cough (96%), weight loss (96%), fever (88%), chronic diarrhoea (70%) and dyspnoea (52%) were the common presenting symptoms. Tuberculosis was the commonest respiratory infection (72%), followed by bacterial pneumonia (22%), pneumocystic jiroveci infection (6%) and fungal infection (4%). Among the 32 patients who had a diagnosis of active pulmonary TB infection, the tuberculin test was positive in 20 patients and it was negative in 16 patients.