AIDS-associated infections in salivary glands: Autopsy survey of 60 cases

Abstract

We reviewed the autopsy findings for the submandibular glands of 60 patients with AIDS who were autopsied at the George Washington University Medical Center (Washington, DC) from 1982 to 1992. AIDS-associated infections in the submandibular glands were compared with those in the pancreas and lung. Cytomegalovirus intranuclear inclusions were found in 10 cases, and Pneumocystis carinii infection was found in one case. Disseminated mycobacterial and fungal infections were not identified in the submandibular gland, even in the presence of documented pancreatic and pulmonary infection (P < .05). Overall, the major salivary glands of patients with AIDS are less frequently involved with disseminated opportunistic infections than is either the lung or the pancreas (P < .01 and P < .001, respectively).