Incidence of Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Symptoms in HIV Patients

Introduction - Gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary disorders are among the most frequent complaints in patients with HIV disease. Advances in Antiretroviral treatment are changing the nature of HIV disease and affecting many of gastrointestinal manifestations, shifting management strategies back to disorders prevalent in non- HIV normal hosts. The clinical and histological expression of most diseases is attenuated because of the impaired immune response. In addition, most disorders that are diagnosed in patients with AIDS reflect advanced immunosuppression and occur late in the natural history of AIDS. This study was carried out to record the incidence of various gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary symptoms in patients of HIV Method Total 80 HIV infected patients who were under follow up or admitted in ward of a tertiary care hospital were studied for various gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary symptoms at the time of presentation. The incidence of occurrence, liver function test, stool examination for modified AFB, ultrasound abdomen, upper Gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy or colonoscopy was performed. Results - Pain in abdomen, loose stools, dyspepsia and vomiting were predominant gastrointestinal symptoms. There was high prevalence of Acid Fast stain (cold) positive protozoa in HIV patients (diarrheal and non-diarrheal). Gastritis, esophagitis and duodenal ulcer were predominant upper GI endoscopy findings. Asymptomatic abnormal liver function is most frequent hepatobiliary manifestation in patients of HIV with raised transaminases being prominent abnormality. Conclusions - Gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary manifestations in HIV infected patients are mostly drug related side effects