Treatment of intestinal microsporidiosis with albendazole in patients with AIDS

ObjectiveTo determine the clinical and parastilogical repsonse to treatment of intestinal microsporidiosis with albendazole. DesignOpen prospective study. SettingHospital-based HIV/genito-urinary medicine unit. Patients, participantsSix consecutive AIDS patients with small intestianl microsporidiosis as the only identified cause of diarrhoea after intensive gastrointestinal investigations. ResultsDiarrhoea resolved completely in all patients within 1 week of starting treatment, and body weight stabilized or increased. Four patients who relapsed at 19–31 days after the cessation of treatment responded to a second course of albendazole. Degenerative changes occurred in the parasites after treatment, which had not been seen either in pre-treatment biopsies or, in four patients, following therapy with other drugs. ConclusionsAlbenazole is a useful palliative treatment for microsporidial diarrhoea.