Ocular Disorders In Patients Infected With The Human Immunodeficiency Virus At The University Of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Aims: Ocular diseases occur at all stages of HIV infection. Reports have documented that the prevalence of these diseases vary from region to region. Thus the objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of these ocular disorders among people infected with HIV at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria

Methods: The study was prospective in design and all patients who tested positive for HIV antibodies over a 5-year period from September 1997 to August 2002 in Dermatology and Ophthalmology Units at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Nigeria, were examined for the presence of ocular disease.

Results: Twenty-one of the 526 HIV-positive patients had ocular disease, giving a prevalence rate of 4.0%. Their mean age was 39.5 ± 10.5 years. Fourteen patients (2.7%) had Herpes zoster ophthalmicus, four (0.8%) had Squamuos cell carcinoma, two (0.4%) had Kaposi\'s sarcoma while one (0.2%) had Cytomegalovirus retinitis. The signs seen on ocular examination were vesicular rash (66.7%) diminished vision (57.1%) corneal ulcers (38.0%), conjunctival injection (38.0%), and eyelid nodules (28.6%), preauricular lymphadenopathy (28.6%), purulent eye discharge (19.0), conjunctival nodules (9.5%), papilledema (9.5%), ptosis (9.5%), sudden visual loss in both eyes (9.5%), pupillary dilatation (4.8%), chemosis (4.8%), uveitis (4.8%), and retinal hemorrhage (4.8%).

Conclusions: In this study the prevalence of ocular disorders was 4.0% in the 526 HIV-positive patients studied. Herpes zoster ophthalmicus was the commonest ocular disease encountered, occurring in 2.7% of the study population. This is in keeping with reports from other parts of the world. We recommend that young patients presenting with Herpes zoster ophthalmicus, conjunctival Squamuos cell carcinoma and sudden onset bilateral blindness should be screened for HIV infection.


Keywords: Ocular Disorders, HIV infection, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City.

Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol. 10 (4) 2007 pp. 283-286