Generally parents of HIV-infected children 6 months to 4 years and 5 to 11 years of age generally reported lower mean QoL scores than did parents of uninfected children, although worse psychological functioning was reported for uninfected children. HIV-infected adolescents not receiving antiretroviral treatment had worse health perceptions and symptoms. We found no consistent QoL differences among children receiving different antiretroviral regimens.

To determine the safety of 2 candidate vaccines against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial compared low, medium, and high doses of the vaccines or an adjuvant among infants born to HIV-infected women. No local or systemic reactions of grade 2 or greater were reported 48 h after the subjects underwent immunization. Grade 3 or 4 chemistry toxicities occurred in 5 (3%) and grade 3 or 4 hematologic toxicities in 17 (11%) of 154 vaccinated subjects (not significantly different from 29 adjuvant recipients). CD4(+) cell percentages of < or = 20% occurred at least once in 9 vaccinated subjects and 1 control subject. Sustained CD4(+) cell percentages of < or = 20% occurred in 4 HIV-infected children. Fourteen infants (8%) were confirmed to be HIV-infected; median CD4(+) cell counts among these children were 2074, 1674, 1584, and 821 cells/mm(3) at birth and weeks 24, 52, and 104, respectively. Thus, both vaccines were safe and well tolerated in neonates, and there was no evidence of accelerated immunologic decline in HIV-infected infants.

ABSTRACT. Objectives. To compare language development in infants and young children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to language development in children who had been exposed to HIV but were uninfected, and (among subjects with HIV infection) to compare language development with cognitive and neurologic status.Design. Prospective evaluation of language development in infected and in exposed but uninfected infants and young children.Setting. Pediatric Infectious Disease Clinic, State University of New York-Health Science Center at Syracuse.Subjects. Nine infants and young children infected with HIV and 69 seropositive but uninfected infants and children, age 6 weeks to 45 months.Results. Mean Early Language Milestone Scale, 2nd edition (ELM-2) Global Language scores were significantly lower for subjects with HIV infection, compared with uninfected subjects (89.3 vs 96.2, Mann-Whitney U test). The proportion of subjects scoring >2 SD below the mean on the ELM-2 on at least one occasion also was significantly greater for subjects with HIV infection, compared with uninfected subjects (4 of 9 infected subjects, but only 5 of 69 uninfected subjects; Fisher's exact test). Seven of the 9 subjects with HIV infection manifested deterioration of language function. Four manifested unremitting deterioration; only 1 of these 4 demonstrated unequivocal abnormality on neurologic examination. Three subjects with HIV infection and language deterioration showed improvement in language almost immediately after the initiation of antiretroviral drug treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography of the brain were performed in 6 of 7 infected subjects with language deterioration, and findings were normal in all 6. ELM-2 Global Language scaled scores showed good agreement with the Bayley Mental Developmental Index or the McCarthy Global Cognitive Index (r ‫؍‬ 0.70). Language deterioration, or improvement in language after initiation of drug therapy, coincided with or preceded changes in global cognitive function, at times by intervals of up to 12 months.Conclusions. Language deterioration occurs commonly in infants and young children with HIV infection, is seen frequently in the absence of abnormalities on neurologic examination or central nervous system imag-

Objective. To describe the epidemiology of newborn seroprevalence for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in a predominantly white, nonurban population, and to determine the factors associated with enrollment at a regional pediatric acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) center serving that population. Design. Retrospective case series of children enrolled at a regional pediatric AIDS center during a 6-year period and comparison with universal blind newborn screening data collected by the state of New York during the same time interval. Setting. The Pediatric AIDS Center at State University of New York-Health Science Center at Syracuse, which serves as the only source of HIV-related pediatric care for children in a 16-county region of upstate New York totaling 1.8 million population. Results. One hundred thirty-nine HIV-seropositive infants were born in the region during the 6-year study period; complete blind screening data were available for 138. Sixty-five (47%) of these infants were white. Thirty-nine (28%) of 138 had been enrolled at the Pediatric AIDS Center within the first 90 days of life. An additional 22 (16%) were enrolled at older than 90 days of life. The remaining 77 (56%) have never been seen at the center and are presumed to be unidentified. County enrollment rates varied from 0% to 100% and correlated with percent nonwhite births (r = .58; 95% confidence interval, 0.04-0.86). Children in outlying counties were at greater risk for nonenrollment than children from Onondaga County (site of the Pediatric AIDS Center) (adjusted relative risk, 1.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.85). White infants residing outside of Onondaga County were at the greatest risk of nonenrollment; of 50 seropositive white infants residing outside of Onondaga County, only 7(14%) were enrolled at the center within the first 90 days of life. Conclusions. Local demographic factors can skew the racial distribution of HIV-seropositive infants dramatically compared with the national experience. White race and residence in counties away from the medical center each constituted risk factors for nonenrollment at the Pediatric AIDS Center. The epidemiology of HIV in this predominantly white, rural population, coupled with physician practices, probably contributed to low identification and enrollment rates. As the AIDS epidemic spreads into similar populations elsewhere, HIV infection in pregnant women or newborn infants is likely to become progressively harder to detect, unless universal screening is adopted.

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