Recent changes in the demographics of HIV infection, along with advances in therapy and prophylaxis, have influenced the relative frequency and patterns of pulmonary infections associated with AIDS [1-3]. Bacterial respiratory infections, including infectious airways disease and pneumonia, currently account for most pulmonary infections diagnosed in HTV-infected individuals in the United States [4,5].
The significance of bacterial pneumonia in HTV infection is underscored by the inclusion of two or more episodes of bacterial pneumonia within a 1-year period as an AIDS-defining illness for an MTV-infected patient, regardless of the CD4 cell count [6]. Considering the frequency and significance of bacterial respiratory infections in HTV-infected patients, radiologists should be familiar with radiologic manifestations of these infections. For example, HTV-in-fected patients with bacterial pneumonia most commonly present with chest radiographic findings of focal consolidation and clinical symptoms of productive cough and fever of less than 1 weeks duration [3]. We review the spectrum of nontuberculous bacterial respiratory infections that occur in HTV-infected individuals, with a special emphasis on imaging features.