Clinical Spectrum of Rheumatologic Manifestations in HIV Patients: A Study from Southern India

Introduction: HIV infection is a common disease in India and a variety of rheumatological manifestations are known to occur in HIV Infection. Rheumatological manifestations are significant cause of morbidity in these patients. Aim: To study the clinical spectrum and prevalence of rheumatologic manifestations in HIV patients. Materials and Methods: Patients with HIV 1 and 2 attending the Infectious disease outpatient department of Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram during the study period (March 2009 to March 2010) were assessed by clinical examination and with relevant laboratory investigations, to diagnose the rheumatological manifestation. Based on the clinical manifestations and investigations a rheumatological diagnosis was made. Patients with diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism and other pre-diagnosed rheumatologic illness were excluded from the study. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS IBM Statistics 17.0 version and chi-square test. Results: Out of 385 patients, 161 (41.8%) of HIV patients were in the 30-39 years age group. Male and female were 225 (58.4%) and 160 (41.6%) respectively. A total of 276 (71.7%) patients were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Disease duration of 1-5 year in 174 (45.19%),