Here's a table of common opportunistic infections.
| The causative
bug is... |
The type
of bug it is... |
Affecting
these body parts... |
With such
symptoms as... |
And may
need to be diagnosed by... |
And may
be treated by such drugs as... |
Other comments |
| Pneumocystitis
carinii (PCP) |
Fungus |
Lungs (pneumonia),
possibly other |
Cough, fever,
shortness of breath (dyspnea) |
Chest X-ray,
sputum, Bronchoscopy (BAL) |
TMP-SMX=Bactrim=,
Septa, Pentamedine, trimetrexate |
Recurrence
markedly decreased with prophylaxis |
| Kaposi's
sarcoma |
Not a bug;
more like tumor |
Skin and many
internal organs (lungs, liver, brain, gut) |
None at all,
or dyspnea, abdominal pain, visible lesions |
Skin biopsy,
multiple other organ biopsies |
Radiotherapy,
chemo, interferon, intralesional injection, none |
New evidence
shows growth factor causes KS, may lead to new Rx |
| Cytomegalovirus
(CMV) |
Virus |
Retinitis
(eyes), lungs (pneumonia), gut (colitis), brain |
Blindness,
dyspnea, ulcers, diarrhea, confusion, fevers |
Cultures from
blood, urine, sputum, feces |
DHPG=Ganciclovir
usually gives remission then maintenance |
Oral DHPG
being developed |
| Candida
albicans |
Fungus |
Mouth (thrush),
esophagus, gut, anus |
Loss of taste
and appetite, dry mouth |
Smear, endoscopy,
visible exam for thrush (no test) |
Nystatin (Mycostatin),
clotrimazole (Mycalex), ketoconazole (Nizoral) |
Thrush alone
not diagnostic of AIDS |
| Mycobacterium
avium; Intracellulare MAI, MAC, M. avium |
Mycobacterium |
Lungs, bone
marrow, liver, intestine, brain, skin |
Severe fever/chill,
bone and abdominal pain, weight loss, weakness |
Cultures from
blood or bone marrow |
No truly effective:
rifampin, ethambutol, ciprofloxacin, streptomycin |
"Cousin" to
real TB, but not contagious, i.e. is opportunistic |
| Mycobacterium
tuberculosis (real TB) |
Mycobacterium |
Lungs, bone
marrow, liver, intestine, brain |
Same as above,
cough & marked weight loss (consumption) |
Sputum tests,
skin tests, cultures, X-rays |
Very effective
INH + rifampin + ethambutol |
By itself
in lungs, not AIDS diagnostic, not opportunistic, MAI often
confused |
| Cryptococcus neoformans
("Crypto") |
Fungus |
Brain
(meningitis), bloodstream, lungs |
Headache,
fever, confusion (may be no stiff neck) |
Spinal
tap = lumbar puncture = LP, blood antigen level |
Amphotericin
B +5-flucytosine; now also fluconazole |
Lifelong
maintenance needed, much easier with fluconazole (pill) |
| Toxoplasms
gondii ("Toxo") |
Protozoan |
Brain (encephalitis),
eyes (retinitis) |
Confusion,
seizures, "stroke", visual changes |
CAT scan and/or
MRI, blood titer |
Sulfadiazine
+ pyrimethamine |
Lifelong maintenance
TMP-SMX, PCP prophylaxis may also work |
| Cryptosporidium
or Isospora Belli |
Protozoan |
GI tract (colon) |
Diarrhea |
Stool sample |
Lomotil or
imodium to help diarrhea but no real cure for bug |
Experimental
Rx for Crypto: somatostatin bovine immune glob. TMP-SMX for
Isospora< tr> |
| Herpes
simplex |
Virus |
Mouth; brain
(encephalitis), skin, lungs |
Pain, skin
lesions, confusion |
Smear/culture
of lesions |
Acyclovir=Zovirax
(cream, pills, or IV), vidarabine if brain |
Healthy immune
also can get lesions, thus not truly opportunistic |
| AIDS Dementia
Complex |
Not an infection
(probably) |
Brain |
Loss of memory,
affects coordination |
CAT scan and/or
MRI |
AZT (efficacy
not definitely shown) |
Diagnostic
of AIDS even if no concurrent infection |