Skin disorders in Korean patients infected with human  immunodeficiency virus and their association with a CD4  lymphocyte count: a preliminary study.
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 · 10⁶ cells ⁄ L showed a significantly higher prevalence of Kaposi sarcoma compared with the group with a CD4 lymphocyte count > 200 · 10⁶ cells ⁄ L (P = 0.014). Condyloma was more prevalent in the group with a CD4 count > 200 · 10⁶ 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.
Kim
T-G
TG
Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
K-H
KH
Oh
S-H
SH
D000328:Adult; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology