Streptococcus bovis Bacteremia and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Excerpt

To the editor: A recent case provided an interesting, but not surprising association between Streptococcus bovis bacteremia, gastrointestinal Kaposi's sarcoma, and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

A 33-year-old Haitian man was hospitalized with abdominal pains, low-grade fever, hematochezia, and intermittent watery diarrhea of 2-weeks' duration. Four months earlier the patient had been diagnosed as having the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome with cryptococcal meningitis and chronic perianal herpes. At that time the patient's OKT4/OKT8 ratio was 0.06.

At admission his temperature was 38.2°C; pulse, 100/minute; respiratory rate, 16/minute; and blood pressure, 120/70 mm Hg. Physical examination showed generalized lymphadenopathy, normal lungs and heart,