Clinicopathological Features of Pruritic Papular Eruption of HIV Patients seen in Benin-City, Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Pruritic papular eruption (PPE) is a frequent cause of substantial morbidity in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients in Nigeria. This skin condition remains the most common cutaneous manifestation in HIV-infected patients and it is more prevalent in developing countries.

AIMS

To describe the clinical and pathologic features of PPE in our patients, and compare with those seen in other parts of the world.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Specimen collection, analysis and write-up of the study lasted 18 months (January 2015 to June 2016) after ethical approval of the proposal. The study design was a cross-sectional descriptive study of confirmed HIV-infected patients with clinically active PPE lesions presenting at the Dermatology outpatient clinic, the HIV/ART clinic, and those admitted as in-patients in the medical wards of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin. Data generated from the study were entered into and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.

RESULTS

Only 106 patients were histologically confirmed to be PPE and subsequently recruited for the study. The pattern of distribution of PPE-HIV suggested that the rash has a predilection for exposed parts of the body. The body regions most significantly affected were lateral surface of lower limb, upper limb extensor surface, dorsal surface of foot and dorsal surface of hand. The most common secondary changes observed among the patients were excoriated papules, post-inflammatory hyper- and hypopigmentation, scarring, lichenification.

CONCLUSION

Lesions of pruritic papular eruptions (PPE) of HIV in this study were distributed predominantly on the exposed parts of the body especially the upper and lower limbs.

Aging with HIV: what effect on mortality and loss to follow-up in the course of antiretroviral therapy? The IeDEA West Africa Cohort Collaboration

Background

Reporting mortality and lost to follow-up (LTFU) by age is essential as older HIV-positive patients might be at risk of long-term effects of living with HIV and/or taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). As age effects might not be linear and might impact HIV outcomes in the oldest more severely, people living with HIV (PLHIV) aged 50-59 years and PLHIV aged >60 years were considered separately.

Setting

Seventeen adult HIV/AIDS clinics spread over nine countries in West Africa.

Methods

Data were collected within the International Epidemiological Databases to Evaluate AIDS West Africa Collaboration. ART-naïve PLHIV-1 adults aged >16 years initiating ART and attending ≥2 clinic visits were included (N=73,525). Age was divided into five groups: 16-29/30-39/40-49/50-59/≥60 years. The age effect on mortality and LTFU was evaluated with Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regressions.

Results

At month 36, 5.9% of the patients had died and 47.3% were LTFU. Patients aged ≥60 (N=1,736) and between 50-59 years old (N=6,792) had an increased risk of death in the first 36 months on ART (adjusted hazard ratio=1.66; 95% CI: 1.36-2.03 and adjusted hazard ratio=1.31; 95% CI: 1.15-1.49, respectively; reference: <30 years old). Patients ≥60 years old tend to be more often LTFU.

Conclusion

The oldest PLHIV presented the poorest outcomes, suggesting that the PLHIV aged >50 years old should not be considered as a unique group irrespective of their age. Tailored programs focusing on improving the care services for older PLHIV in Sub-Saharan Africa are clearly needed to improve basic program outcomes.