The Pediatric infectious disease journal
-
Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · May 1988
ReviewHuman immunodeficiency virus infection in children: nature of immunodeficiency, clinical spectrum and management.
The causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a retrovirus, human T lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus, now known as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Infection of children with HIV results in a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic to symptomatic, with the severest disease forms including neurologic deterioration, opportunistic infections and malignancy. This virus infects preferentially T cells bearing the CD4 receptors and also seems to exhibit preference for the central nervous system. ⋯ Thus in infants and children under 15 months of age in the absence of symptoms, the only definitive way to establish diagnosis is by viral isolation or viral antigen detection. Clinically the HIV-infected children can be divided into two groups, symptomatic and asymptomatic. Among the symptomatic group the main diagnostic specific features are: (1) opportunistic infection, e.g. with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia; (2) interstitial pneumonitis with respiratory distress resulting from lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis; (3) microcephaly and other neurologic abnormalities; (4) recurrent bacterial infections.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)