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Otolaryngological and head and neck manifestations in HIV-infected patients seen at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa
Abstract
Objective. To ascertain our local trends of ENT and head and neck manifestations in HIV-infected patients seen at our specialised ENT-HIV Clinic, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, Gauteng Province, SA.
Methods. A 1-year prospective study involving 153 HIV-infected patients was conducted in the clinic from January to December 2011. Patient history was taken and examinations were performed based on the World Health Organization (WHO) HIV/AIDS classification system. Data analysis was performed using Epi Info 7 software.
Results. The most common manifestations were adenoid hypertrophy/hyperplasia followed by cervical lymphadenopathy, chronic suppurative otitis media, otitis media with effusion and sensory-neural hearing loss.
Conclusion. Patients typically presented with early manifestations during symptomatic WHO stages I and II in contrast to results reported in similar developing world studies from Iran, Nigeria and India. A possible explanation may lie in the SA government HIV Counselling and Testing campaign and the antiretroviral rollout programme, the effectiveness of which is becoming evident.