Clinical features of HIV infection in drug users of Manipur.
BACKGROUND
The human immunodeficiency virus was first detected in young intravenous drug users in Manipur in 1989 and it quickly reached a high prevalence in this group. Diagnostic facilities are scarce and it is thus important to suspect the presence of the infection by its clinical features.


METHODS
We did a cross-sectional survey for 13 months among residents of different detoxification centres of Imphal, Manipur, to study the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values of different signs and symptoms occurring at the early phase of the infection.


RESULTS
Most of the young injectors in this survey were found to be in the early phases (stage I 43%; stage II 32%; stage III 15% and stage IV 9.9%) of the World Health Organization clinical staging of human immunodeficiency virus infection and disease. Herpes zoster, oral candidiasis, pruritic papular eruptions, jaundice and lymphadenopathy had positive predictive values of 100%, 100%, 93%, 93% and 88% respectively. Cryptosporidial diarrhoea and tuberculosis (pulmonary and extrapulmonary) were also encountered.


CONCLUSIONS
Intravenous drug users in Manipur who have human immunodeficiency virus infection suffer from different opportunistic infections which give rise to clinical features that are easily recognizable. It is important to be aware of these in areas which lack diagnostic facilities for confirming the infection.
Panda
S
S
Indian Council of Medical Research Unit for Research on AIDS, North Eastern States of India, Salt Lake City, Calcutta, West Bengal.
Kamei
G
G
Pamei
M
M
Sarkar
S
S
Sarkar
K
K
Singh
N D
ND
Deb
B C
BC
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*