An epidemiological study of association of different dermatological and venereological manifestations with HIV

Background: Dermatological problems occur in more than 90% of patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection.In recent years, epidemiological studies have shown that persons with ulcerative and non-ulcerative Sexually Transmitted Infections are more susceptible to HIV but minimal data exist that describe the epidemiology of HIV positivity in different dermatological manifestation. The objective of the study was to study the epidemiology of different dermatological and venereological disease associated with HIV. Methods: A retrospective study was performed in patients attending in Dermatology & Venereology OPD of a tertiary care hospital and referred for HIV ELISA testing with suspicious manifestation that can be associated with HIV infection from the period to June 2015 to May 2016 using a structured questionnaire. These patients were included on the basis of clinical symptoms, signs, morphology of the lesion and then HIV testing done by rapid ELISA test. Results: Out of 3234 patients with suspicious dermatological and venereological manifestation 56 patients were diagnosed as seropositive. Out of these 56 patients 30 (53.57%) had dermatological manifestation while 26 (46.43%) had venereological features. Conclusions: Persistent and recurrent nature of viral infections is responsible for their increasing trend in the current scenario. Though HIV and STIs are perfect examples of epidemiologic synergy as they are core transmitters of each other, different dermatological manifestations can also give the idea to diagnose HIV infections. HIV being higher in married individuals further underlines the importance of contact tracing, counseling, and prompt management of the partners.