Infezione da HIV e patologia opportunistica: considerazioni eziopatogenetiche ed aspetti clinico-diagnostici della candidosi delle mucose orali.

Opportunistic infections are, together with some specific neoplasias, the main problem facing the physician when treating patients affected with AIDS. In fact complications arising from infections correlated to the syndrome are a major factor in both morbidity and mortality. In recent years, thanks to improvements in diagnostic techniques, it has become possible to diagnose opportunistic infections much earlier than in the past, and the use of new antiviral and antifungal molecules has provided the means for more effective treatment, with lower toxicity. In the present study we examine the clinical and diagnostic implications of opportunistic mycotic pathologies, in particular candidiasis of the oral mucosa, which occurs frequently in HIV-positive and AIDS patients. In determining the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of mycosis of the oral cavity, close collaboration with the pathologist is crucial importance to the stomatologist, as well as objective clinical examination and microbiological culture tests.