Fatal Gastrointestinal Tract Hemorrhage in a Child With AIDS

To the Editor.—  As of May 1988 more than 900 cases of pediatric acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were reported to the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga.¹ Complications commonly reported include pulmonary disease, progressive encephalopathy, opportunistic infections, hematologic abnormalities, and hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal tract dysfunction.^2,3We report a pediatric patient with AIDS who had sudden unexpected death due to massive gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage following an episode of pneumatosis intestinalis (intramural air).

Report of a Case. —  An 8-year-old boy presented at 6 years of age with fever of unknown origin. Both parents were intravenous drug users. The boy allegedly had been abused sexually by his father, who subsequently died of brain abscesses and AIDS. Later, the patient and his mother had antibody to human immunodeficiency virus detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis.Over 2 years, the child (who had been in a program for gifted