The use of adjuvant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in HIV-related disseminated atypical mycobacterial infection

SummaryMycobacterium avium complex (MAC) continues to be a challenging problem in some patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection despite the availability of potent chemotherapeutic agents. The use of adjunctive immunomodulatory therapy has shown promise in vitro, but there is currently limited supportive clinical evidence [Kemper CA, Bermudez LE, Derenski SC. Immunomodulatory treatment of Mycobacterium avium complex bacteraemia in patients with AIDS by use of recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. J Infect Dis 1998;177:914–20; Kedzierska K, Johnson M, Mijch A, Cooke I, Rainbird M, Roberts S, et al. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor augments phagocytosis of Mycobacterium avium complex by human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infected monocytes/macrophages in vitro and in vivo. J Infect Dis 2000;181:390–94]. We report the resolution of MAC disease resistant to traditional therapy, in an HIV-infected individual, following the addition of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).