Etiologies of non tuberculous empyema in adult patients infected with HIV in a service of pneumology, Abidjan (Ivory Coast)

To identify the main bacteria that cause thoracic empyema of HIV-infected patients. Retrospective study analyzing the etiology of thoracic empyema in patients admitted to the pneumology clinic of the university hospital center in Abidjan from January 1998 to December 2010. We included all patients with bacteriologically confirmed thoracic empyema and had serological test for HIV. We compared the different pathogens based on HIV status. There were 42 patients of thoracic empyema composed of 24 (63.3%) HIV-infected patients [15 (62.5%) males and nine (37.5%) women] and 18 (36.7%) HIV-negative patients [13 (72.22%) men and five (27.78%) women]. The average age of HIV-infected patients was 41.2 years and 44.8 years for HIV-negative patients. HIV status was known only for 4.76% patients at admission, and most of them had a severe stage of immune suppression, (the average T CD4 cell count was 96/mm(3)). Pleurisy was monomicrobial in 83.33% HIV-infected patients and 94.4% HIV-negative patients. It was polymicrobial in 16.67% immunocompromised patients and 5.56% HIV-negative patient. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from 58.33% HIV-infected patients. Streptococcus Pneumoniae was observed in 61.11% HIV-negative patients. Gram-negative bacteria are the main causes of thoracic empyema in patients HIV-infected.