title: [Pain characteristics in HIV/AIDS patients].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV), affects 0.6 % of world population and 0.3 % of the adult population in Mexico. Pain, in this group, is frequently not identified by the health care team, is poorly defined, and undertreated. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence of pain and its characteristics in Mexican HIV patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  HIV diagnosed patients were included. Social and demographic information about pain characteristics, response to analgesic treatment and the presence of comorbidities were analyzed. The illness status was identified and CD4 cell count was documented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pain was identified in 11 of 55 cases. Mean time of pain onset was 26 months (SD 28.6). Mean pain intensity by visual analogue scale was 7 (SD 2.3), and by verbal analogue scale proportions were reported as follows: 18 % mild, 36.5 % moderate, and 45 % severe pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We observed that pain appeared in 20 % of subjects. CD4 count was observed to be related to pain decrease. Type of study and sample size does not permit a definite interpretation of the results; therefore a generation of prospective studies with larger samples is needed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina del Dolor y Paliativa, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Distrito Federal, México. rexy0510@hotmail.com
authors.forename: María Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Pérez-Carranco
authors.forename: Uriah
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Guevara-López
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Covarrubias-Gómez
authors.forename: Julio Delgado
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: José de Jesús S
authors.initials: Jde J
authors.lastname: Villafaña-Tello
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Espin-Paredes
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult