Most common cause of diarrhea in AIDS patients:

Cryptosporidia, microsporidia, and Isospora belli are the most common oppounistic protozoa that infect the GI tract and cause diarrhea in HIV-infected patients. Diarrhea is accompanied by crampy abdominal pain,nausea and/or vomiting. Diagnosis- stool examination or biopsy of the small intestine. The diarrhea is noninflammatory, and the characteristic finding is the presence of oocysts that stain with acid-fast dyes. Therapy is predominantly suppoive Treatment :- with up to 2000 mg/d of nitazoxanide (NTZ) is associated with improvement in symptoms or a decrease in shedding of organisms in about half of patients.