14th CROI logo

2nd National Conference Human Retroviruses and Related Infections


Washington, DC - January 29 - February 2, 1995


MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM COMPLEX (MAC) DISEASE IN HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS IS A UNIFORM INFECTION OF BONE MARROW THAT DOES NOT CORRELATE WITH THE LEVEL OF INFECTION IN BLOOD

Natl Conf Hum Retrovir Relat Infect 1995 Jan 29-Feb 2;2: (abstract no. 7)

DATRI 007 Study Group
Albany Medical College, Albany, NY; Univ. of Texas, Southwestern, Dallas, TX; Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore, MD; State Univ. of NY at Stonybrook, Stonybrook, NY; Research & Education Group, Portland, OR; and Div. of AIDS, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD

We studied 10 patients with new, blood culture-positive (at screening) MAC disease. Quantitative cultures were performed on blood and a weighed bone marrow biopsy from the iliac crest before treatment. The mean log MAC load in blood at baseline was 1.34 CFU/mL (SD 0.84) and ranged from 0.3 to 2.42 log CFU/mL. The mean log MAC load in the bone marrow at baseline was 4.38 CFU/gm (SD 0.80), with a minimum of 2.93 log and a maximum of 5.81 log. There was no correlation between loads in bone marrow and blood. The log ration of CFU bone marrow/blood load ranged widely from 1.47 to 4.9 log, with a mean of 3.04 log (SD 1.14). Seven patients had bilateral marrow biopsies at baseline and MAC load (CFU/gm) in core specimens was highly correlated (r=0.975).

  Baseline Blood
(CFU/ml;n=10)		 Baseline
Bone Marrow
(CFU/gm;n=10)		 Ratio
BM/Blood
Mean Log
(range)		 1.34
0.3-2.42		 4.38
2.93-5.81		 3.04
1.47-4.90

CONCLUSION: In this group of patients, we found a high correlation in MAC load from bilateral bone marrow specimens, suggesting that MAC is uniformly distributed in the bone marrow. MAC load was several logs higher in bone marrow than blood. However, the correlation between MAC and blood load was poor, suggesting that baseline blood culture results are a poor indicator of tissue load.

Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Bone Marrow, Bone Marrow Examination, Communicable Diseases, HIV Infections, HIV Seropositivity, Humans, Mycobacterium avium Complex, Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection, blood

Acrobat ReaderDownload abstract

1995-01-29
7

Copyright © 1995 - The American Society for Microbiology. Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the American Society for Microbiology.