AIDS in ENT in children

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is one of the most widespread diseases in the world. By the end of 1995, 800,000 HIV infected persons were suspected in Thailand, although the reported number of symptomatic HIV patients was only 13,267 and the number of cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was 31,439. Approximately 5.2% of AIDS patients are cases of paediatric AIDS, contracted mostly by perinatal transmission and with a 25% vertical transmission rate. In a study of paediatric AIDS patients in the Children's Hospital, Thailand, from 1992 to 1995, the five most common clinical manifestations were hepatosplenomegaly (82.85%), persistent pneumonia (64.4%), oral candidiasis (59.6%), chronic diarrhoea (58.4%) and failure to thrive (51.2%). In addition to oral candidiasis, other ENT (ear nose-throat) presentations were lymphadenopathy (41.6%), repeated upper respiratory tract infection (39.5%), otitis media (18.4%), parotitis (5.2%) and sinusitis (0.8%).