Treatment of intestinal microsporidiosis with albendazole in patients with AIDS.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the clinical and parasitological response to treatment of intestinal microsporidiosis with albendazole.

DESIGN

Open prospective study.

SETTING

Hospital-based HIV/genito-urinary medicine unit.

PATIENTS,

PARTICIPANTS

Six consecutive AIDS patients with small intestinal microsporidiosis as the only identified cause of diarrhoea after intensive gastrointestinal investigations.

RESULTS

Diarrhoea resolved completely in all patients within 1 week of starting treatment, and body weight stabilized or increased. Four patients who relapsed at 19-31 days after the cessation of treatment responded to a second course of albendazole. Degenerative changes occurred in the parasites after treatment, which had not been seen either in pre-treatment biopsies or, in four patients, following therapy with other drugs.

CONCLUSIONS

Albenazole is a useful palliative treatment for microsporidial diarrhoea.