A Retrospective Survey of Mucocutaneous Manifestations of HIV Infection in Malaysia: Analysis of 182 Cases

Abstract

A retrospective analysis of 182 HIV positive Malaysians was done in two centers, the University Hospital Kuala Lumpur (UHKL) and the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur (GHKL) from March 1997 to February 1998. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed. The analysis showed that 130 out of 182 patients had mucocutaneous disorders (71.4%). In the study there were 125 males (96.2%) and 5 females (3.8%). The majority of the patients were in the age group from 20 to 50 years. The patients who presented with mucocutaneous disease also had low CD4+ T lymphocyte counts, and most of them had AIDS defining illnesses. The number of cases with generalized hyperpigmentation was very high (35.7%), followed by papular eruptions (29.1%) and xerosis (27.5%). Seborrheic dermatitis was seen in 19.2% of the cases and psoriasis in 7.7%. The most common infections were oral candida 35.7%, tinea corporis and onychomycosis 9.9%, and herpes infection 4.3%. However, mucocutaneous manifestations of Kaposi's sarcoma were rare. The results suggested that mucocutaneous findings are useful clinical predictors of HIV infection or a sign of the presence of advanced HIV infection.

Mucocutaneous manifestations in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected patients in Nouakchott, Mauritania

“…Among noninfectious skin diseases observed in our study, pruritic papular eruptions were the most common dermatological disorder, seen in 38 patients (44.2%). This prevalence is considerably higher than that reported in other studies . Pruritic papular eruptions are characterized by sterile papules, nodules, or pustules with a hyperpigmented, urticarial appearance and pruritus and are one of the dermatoses associated with advanced HIV infection .…”

Treatment of Seborrhoeic Dermatitis in Asia: A Consensus Guide

“…The prevalence of SD in HIV patients was reported as 47.0% in Thailand, 19.2% in Malaysia, and 17.0% in Korea [17][18][19] .…”

HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis accompanied with psoriasis

“…However, in the case of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), psoriasis has been shown to occur in 7% of AIDS patients [2]. Moreover, the human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) has been associated with psoriasis [6].…”

“…Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease in which activated T cells release cytokines resulting in proliferation of keratinocytes [1]. Although psoriasis is known to occur in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) [2], occurrence of psoriasis in HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/ TSP) does not appear to have ever been reported. On the other hand, there are several reports indicating exacerbation or induction of psoriasis during interferon-a therapy [3,4], which is approved as one of the most common therapies used in HAM/TSP.…”