J Korean Med Sci.  2012 May;27(5):542-546. 10.3346/jkms.2012.27.5.542.

Ocular Manifestations of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in Korea

• Kim SJ
• Park SJ
• Yu HG
• Kim NJ
• Jang HC
• Oh MD

• KMID: 1372798
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2012.27.5.542

Abstract

The clinical features of HIV/AIDS-related ocular manifestations in Korean patients were investigated in this study. Data on 200 consecutive Korean patients diagnosed with AIDS who visited the Seoul National University Hospital from January 2003 to June 2008 were reviewed. Fifty-seven patients (28.5%) had ocular manifestations, and they showed significantly lower CD4+ T cell count than patients without ocular manifestations. Among them, 23 (40.3%) patients showed retinal microvasculopathy, and 22 (38.5%) patients showed cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis. Other manifestations included retinal vein occlusion (n = 4), herpes zoster ophthalmicus (n = 4), syphilitic uveitis (n = 2), acute retinal necrosis (n = 1), and progressive outer retinal necrosis (n = 1). The mean CD4+ lymphocyte counts of the patients with retinal microvasculopathy and cytomegalovirus retinitis were 108.5 cells/microL and 69.4 cells/microL, respectively. In conclusion, ocular manifestations including CMV retinitis are common complications in Korean patients with AIDS even in the era of highly active anti-retroviral therapy. Compared to previous reports in western countries, prevalence of CMV retinitis is relatively low and CD4+ lymphocytes count at the time of diagnosis is relatively high.

Keyword

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; HIV; Cytomegalovirus Retinitis

MeSH Terms

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/*etiology
Adult
Aged
Anti-HIV Agents/therapeutic use
CD4 Lymphocyte Count
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/cytology
Cytomegalovirus Retinitis/epidemiology/etiology
Eye Diseases/etiology
Eye Infections, Viral/etiology
Female
HIV Infections/*complications/drug therapy/metabolism
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Necrosis/etiology
Prevalence
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Retinitis/etiology
Uveitis/etiology
Young Adult

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Fundus photographs of AIDS patients. (A) Retinal microvasculopathy showing cotton wool spots and retinal hemorrhage. (B) Cytomegalovirus retinitis showing granular lesions with retinal hemorrhage.

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