Protein S Deficiency and HIV Infection

To the Editor: We report two recent cases of patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) presenting with vascular thrombosis and low levels of protein S. To determine whether there is any relation between HIV infection and low plasma levels of protein S, we studied the prevalence of protein S deficiency in 71 HIV-infected persons seen for routine laboratory tests over a period of one month. The first patient was a 29-year-old homosexual man who was HIV-positive (Centers for Disease Control [CDC] Group IV-C-2) and had been admitted to the hospital for edema of the legs due to thrombosis . . .