Pathology of paediatric human immunodeficiency virus infections in Cote d'Ivoire

East Afr Med J. 1996 May;73(5 Suppl):S7-8.

Abstract

PIP: During an 8-month period in 1991-92, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, autopsies were conducted on 156 cadavers of children (76 HIV-1 positive cadavers, 2 HIV-2 positive cadavers, and 77 HIV-negative cadavers) located in the morgue of Treichville University Hospital Center. Morgue personnel had screened 417 dead children 1 month to 14 years old for HIV-1 or HIV-2 during the same period, 80 (19%) of whom were HIV-1 or HIV-2 positive. Among the dead children younger than 18 months, 81% had HIV IgA antibodies. The age ranged from 1 to 96 months for all the HIV-infected dead children and 1 to 144 months for the HIV-negative dead children. Specific diseases found only among HIV-infected dead children included, in order of prevalence, pneumocystis pneumonia (15 months only), toxoplasmosis, herpes simplex, multinucleate giant cell encephalitis, and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis. Only 2 HIV-positive dead children had tuberculosis; they were older than 15 months. In both HIV-positive and HIV-negative dead children, the most common cause of death was pyogenic pneumonia. The prevalence of pneumocystis pneumonia in the HIV-positive dead children younger than 15 months was higher than it was for HIV-positive adults (31% vs. 3%).

MeSH terms

  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / pathology
  • Adolescent
  • Autopsy
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Comorbidity
  • Cote d'Ivoire
  • Female
  • HIV Seronegativity
  • HIV Seropositivity / pathology*
  • HIV-1*
  • HIV-2*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Prevalence