RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To define a clinical profile indicative of HIV infection in a population of severely malnourished children in Burkina Faso. A total of 433 children (average age, 19 months) were recruited at the Sanou Souro National Hospital, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. RESULTS: Sixty-three per cent presented with marasmus, 13% with kwashiorkor and 24% with both forms of malnutrition. The prevalence of HIV infection in children aged over 12 months was 13.8%, with a marked predominance of HIV-1 (95.8%). Mother-to-child transmission was proven in 77% of the cases; in 10% of the observed paediatric AIDS cases, transmission may have occurred through multi-injections with contaminated equipment. Marasmus was the form of malnutrition most frequently associated with HIV (P < 0.001); its severity was exacerbated by HIV infection. Adenopathy (P < 0.0001), oral candidiasis (P < 0.0006), skin disorders (P < 0.01) and hepatomegaly (P = 0.01) appeared to be significantly related to HIV infection. Discriminant analysis revealed that the presence of adenopathies was the strongest indicator symptom of HIV infection. Multivariate analysis revealed that a clinical profile of marasmus, adenopathies and oral candidiasis (specificity, 82%) was indicative of HIV infection in this population. The short-term clinical prognosis was poor and usually led to the death of the child when seropositive (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Among children exhibiting severe malnutrition, HIV-positive children are distinguished by a high horizontal transmission rate, a high specific clinical profile and a very poor prognosis.
PIP: Clinically, malnutrition appears as the last stage in pediatric AIDS. It is, however, difficult to determine the causes of malnutrition without diagnostic facilities and in the absence of differentiating clinical criteria. The authors therefore set out to determine the prevalence of HIV in children, to assess the various modes of infection in children, and to define a clinical profile indicative of HIV infection in malnourished children. They found that among children exhibiting severe malnutrition, HIV-seropositive children are distinguished by a high horizontal transmission rate, a high specific clinical profile, and a very poor prognosis. The study population consisted of 433 severely malnourished children of average age 19 months, in the range 4-48 months, admitted to the Sanou Souro National Hospital in Burkina Faso. 63% presented with marasmus, 13%% with kwashiorkor, and 24% with both forms of malnutrition. 13.8% of children older than 12 months were infected with HIV; HIV-1 in 95.8% of these cases. Mother-to-child transmission was proved in 77% of cases; in 10% of the observed pediatric AIDS cases, transmission may have occurred through multi-injections with contaminated equipment. Marasmus was the form of malnutrition most frequently associated with HIV, with its severity exacerbated by HIV infection. Adenopathy, oral candidiasis, skin disorders, and hepatomegaly appeared to be significantly related to HIV infection. Discriminant analysis, however, revealed that the presence of adenopathies was the strongest indicator symptom of HIV infection. Multivariate analysis defined a clinical profile of marasmus, adenopathies, and oral candidiasis as indicative of HIV infection in the population. The short-term clinical prognosis for the infants was poor and usually led to the death of the child when seropositive.