THE ACQUIRED immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been described in several groups of patients, including male homosexuals, Haitians, intravenous (IV) drug users, hemophiliacs, and the female sexual partners of homosexual males. Among the most striking features of this illness are a decrease in the helper-to-suppressor T-cell ratio and a susceptibility to a variety of unusual opportunistic infections.1 These include Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, disseminated cytomegalovirus infection, mucosal candidiasis, cutaneous herpes simplex, Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infections, and cryptosporidiosis. Cryptosporidia can produce a chronic diarrheal syndrome with severe malnutrition in immunosuppressed patients2 but has not previously been described as a pulmonary pathogen. We present a case in which cryptosporidia were identified in a lung biopsy specimen of a patient with AIDS.
Report of a Case
A 32-year-old black native American bisexual man was in good health until four months before admission, when candidal pharyngitis was diagnosed and successfully treated with ketoconazole. Two