The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of transmission of tuberculosis in a large prison population over an 18-mo period. Restriction-fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was performed, using the insertion sequence IS6110 and the plasmid pTBN12. Patients infected with strains having the same fingerprint were grouped in clusters. Medical records were reviewed and movement of inmates among prisons was examined for selected patients. Tuberculosis was diagnosed in 216 inmates (case rate = 2,283 per 100,000 per year). Isolates from 210 (97%) patients were fingerprinted, 155 (74%) were grouped in 25 clusters, and 55 (26%) showed a unique fingerprint. Recent infection was inferred in 62% of these patients. Eighty-four percent (161 of 192) of patients tested were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive, of whom 121 were in clusters and 40 were not (p = 0.74). Patients in clusters were less adherent with tuberculosis treatment than those not in clusters (p < 0.05), and prison transmission of resistant strains was observed. It is crucial that infection control guidelines be fully implemented in the prison setting to prevent tuberculosis transmission.

In order to determine the clinical significance of mixed oropharyngeal candidiasis (Candida albicans plus a non-albicans strain of Candida) in patients infected with HIV-1, a retrospective chart review was done in 12 HIV-1-infected patients with a clinical episode of oropharyngeal candidiasis, in whom a mixed culture of Candida albicans (found to be fluconazole-sensitive) plus a non-albicans species of Candida was obtained from their oral cavities. This group was compared with 26 HIV-positive patients (control group) with oropharyngeal candidiasis due to Candida albicans (found to be fluconazole-sensitive). Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by a broth microdilution test with RPMI-2% glucose. A fungal strain was considered fluconazole-sensitive if its MIC was < 0.5 micrograms/ml. Both the study and control groups had similar clinical and demographic characteristics. All the patients were severely immunocompromised, with a mean CD4+ lymphocyte count of 63/mm3 (95% CI 41-84) and 80/mm3 (95% CI 25-135) in the study and control groups, respectively. In the study group, seven patients had Candida albicans and Candida krusei in their oral cavity, four had Candida albicans and Candida glabrata, and one had Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. Antifungal therapy consisted of ketoconazole (5 patients in the study group, 14 in the control group) or fluconazole (7 patients in the study group, 12 in the control group); no statistically significant difference in clinical outcome was observed. Fungal strain persistence after therapy was frequently observed in both groups. It is concluded that non-albicans strains of Candida, less sensitive to azole drugs than their Candida albicans counterparts, are not clinically relevant in episodes of mixed oropharyngeal candidiasis in HIV-1-infected patients.

Erythema elevatum diutinum (EED) is a rare chronic disease of unknown origin, part of the spectrum of cutaneous leucocytoclastic vasculitis. A case of EED in a 32-year-old HIV-infected male patient, with no previous opportunistic infections and a CD4+ cell count of less than 200/mm3, is reported. Therapy with oral dapsone (100 mg/day for 15 days) resulted in clinical cure with no relapse after 6 months of follow-up. To our knowledge, only six cases of EED in HIV-positive patients have been reported to date. A brief review of these seven cases is described.

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To assess the clinical significance of splenic tuberculosis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1, we compared 20 patients who had splenic tuberculosis with 20 randomly selected, HIV-infected patients with culture-proven tuberculosis for whom splenic involvement had been ruled out by ultrasonography. All of the patients were male prison inmates and intravenous drug users. Statistically significant differences (P < .05) were detected between patients with splenic involvement (median CD4+ cell count, 54/mm3) and those without splenic involvement (median CD4+ cell count, 92/mm3). No specific symptoms suggesting splenic involvement were detected in the patients with splenic tuberculosis. All patients received antituberculous drugs, and none of these patients required splenectomy. The median survival was similar in both groups. Splenic tuberculosis occurs in more-severely immunocompromised HIV-infected patients, the prognosis is generally good, the clinical response to therapy is usually favorable, and splenectomy is rarely necessary.