HIV INFECTED PATIENTS: CORRELATION OF CUTANEOUS DISEASE WITH DEGREE OF IMMUNOSUPPRESSION

Summary The AIDS epidemic has become a world‐wide health problem since the disease was identified ten years ago. An HIV‐dermatology outpatient clinic was established at the Albion Street Centre in Sydney to manage patients with cutaneous manifestations of AIDS. This study reviews the spectrum of skin disorders seen, and attempts to correlate skin disease with the degree of immunosuppression as reflected by CD4 or T helper lymphocyte counts, whereas previous reports have attempted to correlate skin disease with clinical signs and symptoms. Brief summaries of HIV disease and the cutaneous manifestations of AIDS are given.