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Case report
Opportunistic penicilliosis infection causing intestinal obstruction in people living with HIV complicating antiretroviral therapy
  1. Rajeevan Philip Sridhar,
  2. Victor Vijay Coelho,
  3. Beulah Roopavathana and
  4. Suchita Chase
  1. General Surgery, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
  1. Correspondence to Dr Beulah Roopavathana; beulahroopavathana{at}gmail.com

Abstract

We report a retroviral positive patient who presented to us with recurrent skin lesions along with intermittent, colicky periumbilical abdominal pain associated with non-projectile, postprandial vomiting. Contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) of abdomen and pelvis was suggestive of proximal jejunal obstruction. Double balloon enteroscopy done which showed extensive deep ulceration with surrounding nodular surface and friable mucosa at 60 cm from pylorus with luminal narrowing. The biopsy from this region as well as the skin lesion on the forehead grew Talaromyces marneffei. She was initially treated with liposomal amphotericin B for 2 weeks following which she received itraconazole for 3 weeks for disseminated talaromycosis infection. She had already been started on antiretroviral therapy (ART) 1 year back however her cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) counts did not show any improvement. Proximal bowel obstruction leading to poor nutritional status compounded with ineffective ART therapy due to suboptimal absorption, dictated the staged management of her condition. Feeding jejunostomy was done with a plan to offer her resection and anastomosis of affected jejunal segment, should she require one, after optimising her nutritional and immunological status.

  • infections
  • HIV / AIDS
  • general surgery

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Footnotes

  • Contributors RPS has contributed in conception and design of the case report, acquisition of data, analysis, drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content.VVC had contributed in acquisition of data, drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content. BR has contributed in conception and design of the case report, drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content. SC has contributed in acquisition of data, analysis, drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.