Intestinal Spirochetosis in an HIV-positive Patient

Massimiliano Guillermo Trinidad Pereira; Consuelo Martínez Antolinos; Adriana Canosa Fernandez; Elisa Martínez Alfaro; Julián Solís García Del Pozo

doi:10.12890/2021_002686

Intestinal Spirochetosis in an HIV-positive Patient

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2021 Jul 7;8(7):002686. doi: 10.12890/2021_002686. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Massimiliano Guillermo Trinidad Pereira¹, Consuelo Martínez Antolinos², Adriana Canosa Fernandez³, Elisa Martínez Alfaro⁴, Julián Solís García Del Pozo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine Department, Albacete University Hospital Complex, Albacete, Spain.
² Nephrology Department, Albacete University Hospital Complex, Albacete, Spain.
³ Pathology Department, Albacete University Hospital Complex, Albacete, Spain.
⁴ Infectious Diseases Department, Albacete University Hospital Complex, Albacete, Spain.

Abstract

We present the case of an HIV-positive patient admitted because of costal pain secondary to neoplasia. During investigations, a colonoscopy showed non-specific ulcerations. Histological examination resulted in a diagnosis of intestinal spirochetosis. This infection can be asymptomatic or cause non-specific symptoms such as diarrhoea or abdominal pain. Intestinal spirochetosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of colon lesions in patients with HIV infection.

Learning points: Intestinal spirochetosis is associated with chronic diarrhoea and often with normal colonoscopy.This infection should be included in the differential diagnosis of HIV patients with digestive symptomatology in the absence of other more frequent causes.

Keywords: HIV infection; Intestinal spirochetosis; colon biopsy.