Document 2959
 DOCN  M94A2959
 TI    Carbohydrate malabsorption in patients with HIV infection.
 DT    9412
 AU    Ginaldi L; Furia N; DiGiammartino D; Marani-Toto G; Corazza GR; Quaglino
       D; Department of Int. Med., University of L'Aquila, Italy.
 SO    Int Conf AIDS. 1994 Aug 7-12;10(1):186 (abstract no. PB0173). Unique
       Identifier : AIDSLINE ICA10/94369616
 AB    Patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection frequently have
       intestinal dysfunction, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight
       loss, often associated with opportunistic infections or secondary
       malignancies. We utilized breath hydrogen measurements to determine the
       prevalence of carbohydrate malabsorption and its relationship with
       intestinal symptoms and enteric pathogens at different stages of HIV
       infection. 42 seropositive adult patients (29 males and 13 females, mean
       age 29.9 years) and 44 healthy volunteers of comparable sex and age were
       evaluated for disaccharide malabsorption using lactose hydrogen breath
       test. Breath samples were collected from each subject studied
       immediately before and every 30 minutes for 4 hours after the oral
       ingestion of 20 gr. of lactose. Hydrogen concentration was measured
       using a Quintron Model 12 microlyzer: an increase of more than 20 parts
       per million was assumed as indicative of lactose malabsorption. A search
       for intestinal pathogens including Salmonella, Shigella. Yersinia
       enterocolitica, Campylobacter jejuni, Rotavirus, Parasites and their
       ova, Candida albicans, Mycobacterium and Cryptosporidium was performed
       accordingly to standard techniques. The prevalence of lactose
       malabsorption was significantly higher (p 0.001; Chi square test) in HIV
       infected patients (67.5%) compared with healthy controls (30%). We
       therefore investigated the intestinal function in relation to the
       progressive stages of HIV infection: the prevalence of lactose
       malabsorption was significantly higher (p 0.001) in more advanced stages
       of the disease (ARC and AIDS) compared with asymptomatic and LAS
       patients (82.6% vs 47.3% respectively). Chronic diarrhea and/or weight
       loss were present in 9 patients (5 AIDS and 4 ARC). Although all these
       patients with intestinal symptoms presented lactose malabsorption,
       microbiologic evaluation revealed intestinal pathogens only in 4 of
       them. Intestinal dysfunction with carbohydrate malabsorption is a common
       feature of HIV infection, even in the absence of clinically relevant
       diarrhea or intestinal identifiable enteric infection; this may
       contribute to the disease progression and malnutrition.
 DE    Adult  AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY  Breath
       Tests  Dietary Carbohydrates/*METABOLISM  Disaccharides/METABOLISM
       Female  Human  HIV Infections/*PHYSIOPATHOLOGY  Intestinal
       Absorption/*PHYSIOLOGY  Lactose/METABOLISM  Malabsorption
       Syndromes/*PHYSIOPATHOLOGY  Male  MEETING ABSTRACT

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