Pathogens and Predictors of Fatal Septicemia Associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Ivory Coast, West Africa

In East Africa, bacteremia is more common in hospitalized human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1-positive than -negative patients. In 1991, blood cultures and clinical and laboratory data were obtained from 319 patients in Ivory Coast, where both HIV-1 and -2 infections occur. Forty-three bacterial, 10 mycobacterial, and 8 fungal pathogens were isolated from blood of 54 patients (17%). Pathogens isolated significantly (P < or = .05) more frequently from HIV-positive than -negative patients were nonmycobacterial bacteria, particularly Salmonella enteritidis; mycobacteria, particularly Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Mycobacterium bovis; and yeast or fungus. HIV-1 or -2 positivity was associated with a 3-fold increased risk for septicemia (P < .02). HIV-positive patients with fever or with lymphocyte counts < 1000 were more likely to be septicemic than those without these characteristics. Mortality increased significantly with HIV positivity (40% vs. 14%, P < .001) and, among HIV-positive patients, with having pathogens isolated from blood (63% vs. 33%, P < .001).