title: Accelerated nail growth rate in HIV patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many factors have been noted to alter the growth rate of both finger and toe nails, some with harder evidence than others. Infectious diseases are among the ones reported as slowing the growth rate. However, on previous studies we noticed that patients living with HIV and onychomycosis could be cured without the use of antifungal therapy, only with the immunological improvement provided by the combined antiretroviral therapy, and we wanted to prove that the growth rate is also increased in this group and thus probably contributes to the cure of onychomycosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was an observational, descriptive, and prospective study. We marked with a scalpel the nail plate of the first finger of the non-dominant hand and the same foot, and measured the nail growth in the subsequent medical appointments with a magnifying glass and a millimetric scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen patients completed the study, and were paired with healthy controls by age and gender. After performing Mann-Whitney U test, our results showed statistical significance among both groups, showing that patients with HIV have faster nail growth rates than those in the HIV negative group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is little data on HIV nail growth rate to compare our results, but what we see in the clinical practice is that this group of patients shows a faster nail growth rate, as has also been reported for longer eyelashes, and this could be an important factor in the cure rates of onychomycosis.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, Mycology Section, General Hospital Dr. Manuel Gea González, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Elisa C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, Mycology Section, General Hospital Dr. Manuel Gea González, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Selina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marioni-Manriquez
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, Mycology Section, General Hospital Dr. Manuel Gea González, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Ramón F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Fernández-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, Mycology Section, General Hospital Dr. Manuel Gea González, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moreno-Coutiño
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005385:Fingers; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009262:Nails / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014034:Toes; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents