Mucocutaneous manifestations and the relationship to CD4 lymphocyte counts among Turkish HIV/AIDS patients in İstanbul, Turkey

Abstract

Background/aim: Dermatologic findings differ among countries but no sufficient data about Turkish HIV-infected patients exist in the literature. Therefore, our aim in this study was to document the dermatologic manifestations and their relationships with CD4 cell counts among HIV/AIDS patients visiting our clinic for the first time in İstanbul, Turkey. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 306 HIV/AIDS patients (260 men, mean age: 38.3 years) was done in a tertiary hospital in İstanbul from January 2006 to September 2012. Information on age, sex, transmission routes, socioeconomic and educational status, CD4 counts, and dermatologic findings was collected retrospectively from medical records. Results: Our analyses revealed at least 1 dermatologic disease in 111 of the 306 (36.2%) patients. Mean CD4 count of the patients was 393.64 cells/mm3 (range: 4–1270 cells/mm3). Oral candidiasis (12.4%), herpes zoster (5.9%), dermatophytosis (5.4%), hyperpigmentation (5.2%), and folliculitis (4.6%) were the most common skin problems. Statistically significant correlation (P < 0.05) with low CD4 cell counts was found for oral candidiasis, folliculitis, herpes zoster, hyperpigmentation, xerosis, and Kaposi’s sarcoma. Conclusion: Dermatologic manifestations in this study were identical to those described in most studies from Asia, and there were more manifestations as the HIV infection progressed and immune functions declined.