Cutaneous Manifestations of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/AIDS Patients in Albania

Context: Dermatologic diseases are common in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected population. Cutaneous manifestations of HIV disease may result from HIV infection itself or from opportunistic disorders secondary to the declined immunocompetence due to the disease. Aims: The aim of this study is to determine the pattern of c0utaneous manifestations in HIV in an adult HIV Clinic in Tirana. Subjects and Methods: This is a retrospective study including 355 HIV-positive patients with cutaneous manifestations who referred to the Ambulatory Clinic for HIV/AIDS, at the Infective Service and Dermatology Service of University Hospital Centre “Mother Theresa,” Tirana, Albania over the period 2008–2015. Results: The mean age of patients was 43.08 (±11.8) years, with a range 15–79 years. Two hundred and forty-seven (69.6%) of patients were male and 108 (30.4%) female. Male-to-female ratio is 2.3:1. The study found a significant trend of increasing incidence of dermatological pathologies with increasing stage of the disease. Fifty-five (15.5%) of patients with cutaneous lesions were in Stage 1, 132 (37.2%) in Stage 2, and 168 (47.4%) in Stage 3 (P < 0.001). As for the HIV transmission method, the majority of patients (71%) were infected through heterosexual contact, followed by homosexual contact (16.3%), blood transfusion (3.4%), injecting drug user (2.3%), while for 7% of patients the mode of transmission was unknown. Conclusions: Early recognition of the cutaneous manifestation can help in better management of HIV infection in resource-poor setting, as it can indicate the progression of the disease and underlying immune status.