Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:To provide new epidemiologic data of ocular presentations of HIV patients in the era of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), and to characterize the changing pattern of ophthalmic complications of HIV. Methods:We analyzed the records of 353 consecutive HIV patients who had ophthalmologic examination at Cook County Hospital CORE Center, Chicago, IL. The ocular findings of these patients were organized and correlated with their CD4 count. Results:HIV retinopathy was found in 34 (9.6%) patients. The incidence of HIV retinopathy among AIDS patients was 15.4% and among non-AIDS patients was 5.7%. Of the patients with HIV retinopathy, 12 (35.3%) had only cotton wool spots, and 22 (64.7%) had dot blot hemorrhages. CMV retinitis was present in 19 (5.4%) patients. The incidence of CMV retinitis among AIDS patients was 11.2% and among non-AIDS patients was 1.4%. In our study, among the AIDS patients with CD4 count less than 20 , the frequency of HIV retinopathy was 20.8% and CMV retinitis was 29.2%. Conclusion:Our findings demonstrate a statistically lowered incidence of both HIV retinopathy and CMV retinitis compared to studies published before the era of HAART, in which the incidence of HIV retinopathy was 50 to 60% and CMV retinitis was up to 40%. Among the patients with HIV retinopathy, most patients had dot blot hemorrhages in the peripheral retina. This a new finding comparing the data published prior to HAART era, in which cotton wool spots were the prominent finding in patients with HIV retinopathy.
Keywords: 311 AIDS/HIV • 382 cytomegalovirus • 554 retina