title: Ultrasound and histopathological features of myocardial involvement in HIV infection in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  HIV infection in children is an important clinical and pathologic entity, which embraces many forms of presentation and can involve multiple organs and systems. This study aimed at identifying the main forms of cardiovascular involvement in HIV-infected children with horizontally transmitted disease and describing them with the aid of ultrasound and histopathological examinations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We recorded cardiovascular anomalies in 79 (67.52%) patients out of the 117 comprised in the study population, and noted the following prevalence distribution: systolic dysfunction in 49 (41.88%) patients, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in 30 (25.6%) patients, right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) in 15 (12.82%) patients, and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in 22 (18.8%) patients. We also carried out post-mortem histopathological examinations in five patients, and observed the main modification incurred by the disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cardiac involvement during HIV infection differs significantly in different mechanisms of virus transmission, and the horizontal transmission of HIV yields a lower prevalence of this type of pathology. The general diagnostic picture can be significantly improved by adding histopathological examination to the ultrasonographic method of investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tirgu Mures, Romania; cosmin.moldovan@umftgm.ro.
authors.forename: Anca Meda
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Georgescu
authors.forename: Cosmin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moldovan
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Azamfirei
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Georgescu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004452:Echocardiography; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*