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Skin disorders in Korean patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus and their association with a CD4 lymphocyte count: a preliminary study
Author(s) -
Kim TG,
Lee KH,
Oh SH
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2010.03675.x
Subject(s) - medicine , syphilis , folliculitis , lymphocyte , immunology , dermatology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)
Background Dermatological disorders are quite common in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected patients. However, cutaneous findings in Korean HIV‐infected patients have not been properly investigated. Objective To investigate the spectrum of dermatological disorders in Korean HIV‐infected individuals according to a CD4 lymphocyte count. Methods A retrospective clinical study was carried out from June 2002 to January 2008. We comprehensively collected information regarding HIV‐associated skin problems, laboratory data and the history of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Results Ninety‐nine HIV‐seropositive patients (mean age: 39.6 ± 11.3 years, males: 94.9%) were included in this study. Of them, 55 patients (55.6%) presented with at least one skin problem. The four most common dermatological disorders were eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (18.6%), symptomatic syphilis (comprising of primary and secondary syphilis) (17.1%), seborrhoeic dermatitis (17.1%) and condyloma acuminatum (12.8%). The group with a CD4 lymphocyte count < 200 × 10 6 cells/L showed a significantly higher prevalence of Kaposi sarcoma compared with the group with a CD4 lymphocyte count > 200 × 10 6 cells/L ( P = 0.014). Condyloma was more prevalent in the group with a CD4 count > 200 × 10 6 cells/L ( P = 0.022). The patients treated with HAART had a lower prevalence of neurosyphilis compared with the non‐treated group ( P = 0.018). Conclusions Diverse dermatological conditions were demonstrated in Korean HIV‐infected patients. Kaposi sarcoma was associated with a low CD4 lymphocyte count, but condyloma was associated with a high CD4 lymphocyte count. The prevalence of syphilis in our study was higher than that of Western countries. HAART seemed to be associated with the low prevalence of neurosyphilis.