Effect of CD4+ lymphocyte count, viral load, and duration of taking anti-retroviral treatment on presence of oral lesions in a sample of South African children with HIV+/AIDS.

AIMS: This was to determine the presence and types of oral mucosal lesions in a sample of HIV(+)/AIDS South African children taking antiretroviral therapy and to investigate the relationship between CD4(+) lymphocyte counts, viral load, duration of taking antiretroviral therapy (DART), and age on presence of oral lesions.
METHODS: The samples consisted of 56 South African children aged 0-4 years (mean age =7.09 years) with HIV(+)/AID, infected at birth. Subjects were divided into two groups according to the presence of oral lesions with test group (patients with oral lesions) and control group (patients with no oral lesions). Children were also divided into two groups, those <6 years and those >6 years old to study the effect of age on presence of lesions.
RESULTS: Oral Candidiasis was the most common lesion reported in 19/56 children, followed by Recurrent Herpetic Infection in 9 children. Other lesions such as Kaposi's sarcoma, Multifocal Epithelial Hyperplasia, Oral Hairy Leukoplakia, Linear Gingival Erythema, and oral ulceration were also present. A statistical significant difference in CD4(+) lymphocyte count (p value 0.005), and viral load (p value 0.002) was found between the oral lesion and no oral lesion groups, those with oral lesions having a significantly higher viral load and lower CD4+ count. No statisticaly significant difference between the two groups in terms of the DART effect (p value 0.811) was found. Furthermore, there was no effect of age groups on the presence of lesions in children with HIV(+)/AIDS.
CONCLUSION: This study contributes to the relatively scant literature on the prevalence of oral lesions in children with HIV infection in South Africa and also the relationship of these lesions to the viral load and CD4(+) lymphocyte counts.