[Etiology of bacterial gastroenteritis in patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus]

A comparative retrospective study was performed on the bacterial etiology of the diarrheal processes which affect a healthy cohort and those which affect HIV-positive patients. From 1988 to 1991, 10,230 coprocultures were obtained of which 27.3% were positive in the healthy cohort and 16.8% in the HIV-positive group. Of the 43 cases in the latter, 24 (12.2%) were adults and 18 (33.9%) were pediatric patients. The primary enteropathogenic microorganism isolated in the HIV-positive group were 17 (40.5%) S. enterica (I), 16 (38.1%) Campylobacter sp., and 9 (21.4%) aeromonas sp. Even though the overall percentage of enteropathogen detection hardly showed any differences between the two groups, it is worth mentioning that there was a certain predominance of diarrheas due to S. enterica (I) in the healthy cohort as compared to the incidence of diarrheas due to Campylobacter sp. and Aeromonas sp. in HIV-positive patients. There does not appear to be strong differences between the incidence of the various enteropathogens in the two groups, perhaps a simple reflection their geographic and local prevalence.