Gastrointestinal Complications in Patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: Review and the Amsterdam Experience

Patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) frequently have gastrointestinal complications during the course of their illness. Literature data about diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary disease in AIDS are reviewed. Of the first 225 patients in our hospital 70% had gastrointestinal symptoms; most frequent symptoms were dysphagia (32%), diarrhea (44%) and anal complaints (18%). Twenty-nine per cent of the patients had Kaposi's sarcoma in the gut. Three hundred and fifty-nine gastrointestinal endoscopies were performed in 137 patients, with multiple duodenal and colonic biopsies to establish a specific diagnosis and treatment.