Clinical patterns of diarrhea in AIDS. A retrospective study at the Federal University Hospital, Rio de Janeiro.

Three hundred and fifty two medical records of AIDS inpatients were analysed in a retrospective study to establish the frequency, clinical patterns and etiology of AIDS-related diarrhea. Diarrhea was observed in 58.8% of the patients, being a chronic symptom in 65.7%, and the first complaint in 24.6%. The most common cause of diarrhea was coccidea and the etiology remained unknown in 56.1% of the patients. Routine stool examination was the most sensitive method in the diagnosis of diarrhea. In countries with limited resources, the use of stool examinations seems to provide appropriate clinical management. The implementation of an objective protocol could improve the etiologic diagnosis of AIDS-related diarrhea without the burden of more complex and invasive technologies.