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Is acute appendicitis another inflammatory condition associated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)?
Author(s) -
Aldeen T,
Horgan M,
Macallan D C.,
Thomas V,
Hay P
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.53
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1468-1293
pISSN - 1464-2662
DOI - 10.1046/j.1468-1293.2000.00037.x
Subject(s) - medicine , appendicitis , immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome , antiretroviral therapy , histopathology , epidemiology , appendix , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , surgery , immunology , pathology , viral load , paleontology , biology
1Department of Genitourinary Medicine, St George's Hospital, London, UK,2Department of Infectious Diseases, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland,3Department of Infectious Diseases and4Department of Histopathology, St George's Hospital, London, UKObjective To report the occurrence of acute appendicitis as a possible manifestation of the immune restoration inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) following the commencement of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV patients. Design Case‐note review of HIV patients on HAART with acute appendicitis. Methods Review of HIV markers, antiretroviral therapy and abdominal ultrasound results of four HIV patients with acute appendicitis and the histopathology reports on the appendix in two of the patients. Results From a population of approximately 350 HIV patients on HAART, we found four patients who developed acute appendicitis within 6 months of commencing or changing HAART. Conclusion Acute appendicitis occurring in HIV patients on HAART may represent a variant of IRIS. Further immunohistopathological and epidemiological evaluation will be needed to define this relationship fully.