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  • Title: A study of Malaysian drug addicts with human immunodeficiency virus infection.
    Author: Yoong KY, Cheong I.
    Journal: Int J STD AIDS; 1997 Feb; 8(2):118-23. PubMed ID: 9061411.
    Abstract:
    A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the clinical profile, haematological and biochemical changes, seroprevalence of common opportunistic pathogens, and AIDS-defining events in 49 Malaysian male drug addicts with HIV infection. Their mean age was 33.2 years, the majority had been injecting drugs for more than 5 years and 88% reporting sharing needles. Fatigue, weight loss and night sweats were common presenting symptoms and the most frequent physical findings were hepatomegaly (57%), lymphadenopathy (35%) and thrush (29%). Pulmonary infections were the commonest complications seen (61%) and of these, 13 had septic pulmonary emboli, 7 had bacterial pneumonias, 7 had pulmonary tuberculosis, and 4 had Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Eight patients had infective endocarditis and 5 had infected pseudoaneurysm in the groin. Anaemia (82%), leucocytosis (53%), hypoalbuminaemia (43%), hyperglobulinaemia (88%), elevated liver enzymes and hyponatraemia (57%) were frequent laboratory findings. The prevalence of HCV, HBV, cytomegalovirus and toxoplasma infection (by serology) were 100%, 12.2%, 72.7% and 59% respectively. All 7 patients with AIDS (4 P. carinii pneumonia, 2 extrapulmonary tuberculosis, and one oesophageal candidiasis) presented with their AIDS-defining illness, suggesting that HIV-infected intravenous drug user (IVDU) patients present late in the course of the disease. A cross-sectional study of a cohort of 49 male human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected intravenous drug users attending the Infectious Diseases Unit of the National University of Malaysia during 1991-94 yielded a clinical profile of these patients. The mean age of respondents was 33.2 years and the mean duration of intravenous drug use was 12.7 years. On average, these men had known of their HIV-positivity for 53.2 weeks. Intravenous drug use was the only reported HIV risk factor in 34 men (69%). Clinical symptoms at intake included fatigue (49%), weight loss (47%), night sweats (31%), fever (14%), and diarrhea (6%), while clinical findings included hepatomegaly (57%), lymphadenopathy (35%), and oral thrush (29%). Anemia (82%), leucocytosis (53%), hypoalbuminemia (43%), hyperglobulinemia (88%), elevated liver enzymes and hyponatremia (57%) were frequent laboratory findings. The prevalences of hepatitis B virus, cytomegalovirus, and toxoplasma infection were 12.1%, 72.7%, and 59%, respectively. A total of 91 diagnoses were made in these 49 patients: most common were pneumonia, tuberculosis, bacteremia, infective endocardiditis, mycotic aneurysm, and psychiatric disorders. The mean duration of known progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the 7 patients at this stage was 391 days. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was the most common AIDS-defining illness. Three months into the study, 19 men (57%) had defaulted, reflecting the difficulties of involving drug addicts in research and intervention projects. Moreover, 16 patients (33%) were first confirmed HIV-positive at presentation to the hospital, suggesting that many drug users' HIV status remains unknown until they develop symptoms requiring hospital care.
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