Current Prevalence and Characteristics of Dermatoses Associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

• Published in: Actas dermo-sifiliográficas (English ed.) 2010-10, Vol.101 (8), p.702-709
• Main Authors: Blanes, M., Belinchón, I., Merino, E., Portilla, J., Sánchez-Payá, J., Betlloch, I.
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; spa
• Subjects: Adult; Alcoholism - epidemiology; Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dermatosis; Female; Highly active antiretroviral therapy; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - epidemiology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Outpatient Clinics, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Prevalence; Risk-Taking; Skin disease; Skin Diseases - epidemiology; Socioeconomic Factors; Spain - epidemiology; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - epidemiology; Tratamiento antirretroviral de gran actividad; Viral Load; Virus de la immunodeficiencia humana
• ISSN: 1578-2190; 1578-2190; 2173-5778
• DOI: 10.1016/S1578-2190(10)70700-9

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy has produced a substantial change in the natural history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The frequency of opportunistic infections and AIDS-related cancers has fallen, though new health problems have developed. Likewise, there has been a change in the spectrum of skin diseases now observed in these patients. To analyze the prevalence and characteristics of skin disease in a group of HIVinfected outpatients. A cross-sectional, observational study was performed. All patients who attended the day care unit of the infectious diseases department over a 6-month period (May-October, 2003) were offered the possibility of complete dermatologic examination. Epidemiologic and clinical variables were recorded in all participants, together with the findings on examination of the skin. A comparative study was performed, grouping the patients according to CD4-lymphocyte count and antiretroviral treatment. The prevalence of dermatoses in the study patients was 98.3%. The most common conditions were xerosis (114 patients, 37.6%), seborrheic dermatitis (94 patients, 31%), distal subungual onychomycosis (80 patients, 26.4%), and viral warts (65 patients, 21.4%). Grouped by etiology, infectious diseases were the most common (68.6%), followed by inflammatory diseases (47.5%). Mucocutaneous lesions continue to be very common in HIV-infected patients, although there has been a qualitative change in the conditions that these patients present. La introducción del tratamiento antirretroviral de gran actividad (TARGA) ha supuesto un cambio profundo en la historia natural de la infección por VIH. Las infecciones oportunistas y las neoplasias asociadas a sida han visto reducida su frecuencia, a la vez que han dado paso a nuevos problemas de salud. De igual manera, el espectro de la patología cutánea que actualmente observamos en estos pacientes se ha visto modificado. Analizar la prevalencia y características de la patología cutánea en una serie de pacientes ambulatorios con infección por VIH. Estudio transversal, observacional. A todos los pacientes que acudieron al Hospital de Día de la Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas durante un periodo de seis meses (mayo-octubre 2003) se les ofreció la posibilidad de la realización de un examen dermatológico completo. Se registraron las variables epidemiológicas y clínicas de todos los participantes y los hallazgos de la exploración cutánea. Los pacientes fueron estudiado