Prevalence and Pattern of Skin Disorders among Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV) Infected Children in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: In HIV infected children, skin disorders are important as they serve as clue to diagnosis of the HIV disease. The Skin is one of the early systems affected by HIV/AIDS, which can affect almost all organs and systems in the body. Prevalence of skin disorders among HIV infected children is up to 90% in some studies. Objective: To determine the prevalence of skin disorders among HIV infected children attending paediatric infectious disease clinic in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of skin manifestations among HIV infected children attending paediatric infectious disease clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. A total of 223 HIV infected participants aged 6weeks to14 years were recruited for this study. Results: The prevalence of skin disorders among HIV infected children was 78.0%. The leading categories were infections and infestations accounting for 55.1% then inflammatory skin disorders (20.6%) Dermatophytoses were the commonest specific skin disorders observed. Conclusion: Therefore, the prevalence of skin disorder among HIV infected children in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital is high (78%). Infections and infestations were the commonest category found followed by inflammatory skin disorders.