Strongyloides stercoralis and HIV: a case report of an indigenous disseminated infection from non-endemic area

RIVERO FD; KREMER LE; ALLENDE LR; CASERO RD

REVISTA ARGENTINA DE MICROBIOLOGíA

Asociación Argentina de Microbiología

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2006 vol. 38 p. 137 - 139

0325-7541

[Strongyloides stercoralis and HIV: a case report of an indigenous disseminated infection from non-endemic area] [Article in Spanish] Rivero FD, Kremer LE, Allende L, Casero RD. Laboratorio de Parasitología, Departamento de Microbiología, Hospital Nacional de Clínicas, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Santa Rosa 1564 (5000) Córdoba, Argentina. Strongyloides stercoralis affects people who live in the tropics, but it also extends to temperate regions where its low incidence rate may lead to misdiagnose it. Inside the host this nematode may remain silent for many years, nevertheless, in patients infected with HIV its reactivation leads to a disseminated infection in ectopic sites. This report presents the case of a 34 years-old man infected with HIV who lived in a highland area in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. He was admitted to the hospital because of a complicated Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, receiving trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and prednisone treatment. A few days after admission his conditions deteriorated badly, a sputum examination revealed filariform larvae of S. stercoralis, he was then given oral ivermectin medication (200 microg/kg/d). Malabsorption and ileus were installed and he died from multiorganic failure. The evolution of HIV infection to AIDS, a steroids treatment and therapy failure despite oral ivermectin triggered larvae proliferation and lead to disseminated hyperinfection until he died. This report presents not only the first case of disseminated strongyloidiasis detected in our Hospital but also an indigenous infection acquired in a non-endemic area. An awareness of an increased predisposition to this infection, especially in immunocompromised patients with malabsorption and ileus is of paramount importance, since failure to initiate appropriate therapy can lead to catastrophic outcomes, as illustrated in this case report.