Dermatologic manifestations among human immunodeficiency virus patients in south India

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be associated with a large number of dermatologic manifestations, which may at times constitute the presenting symptoms. These skin lesions are well delineated in the Western literature, but there is a paucity of information from the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. Objective: We evaluated 833 persons with HIV to determine the types of dermatologic lesions present. Results: The various lesions observed were oral candidiasis (45.0%), multidermatomal herpes zoster (11.2%), dermatophytosis of the skin (8.0%), herpes genitalis (7.7%), papular pruritic dermatitis (7.7%), staphylococcal infection of the skin (2.9%), oral hairy leukoplakia (2.3%), molluscum contagiosum (1.3%), genital warts (1.2%), and scabies (0.5%). Alopecia, intractable itching, dry skin, Addisonian pigmentation, and Kaposi's sarcoma were also noted. A correlation between the dermatologic manifestations and CD4 cell counts was found. Conclusion: Although the pattern of cutaneous lesions was comparable with that from the West, there is a strikingly lower incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma.