Bacteremia in Patients with AIDS

A combination of clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and amikacin for the treatment of Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare bacteremia was evaluated in 12 AIDS patients. Mycobacteremia cleared in all patients by 2 to 8 weeks of treatment, and symptoms resolved. Four patients died; all had negative blood cultures until death, and disseminated M. avium-M. intracellulare complex infection was not considered the primary cause of death. Mycobacterium avium-Mycobactenium intracellulare complex (MAC) infection is one of the most common sys-temic bacterial infections complicating AIDS. It has been cultured during life from as many as 34 % of AIDS patients (8), and according to recent studies, 40 to 50 % of all patients with AIDS appear to be infected (6). Moreover, many studies show that disseminated MAC infection is a major cause of illness and makes a substantial contribution to the death of these patients (3). Early reports on the effect of treatment were discouraging