Clinical patterns of sexually transmitted diseases in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals in a tertiary care center in South India.

backgroundHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) synergize to aggravate the associated morbidity of each other in the human body.

aimsThe aim was to study the pattern of presentations of STDs in patients with HIV. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis study was conducted by selecting 100 consecutive cases of HIV infection with symptoms suggestive of co-existing STD attending the outpatient department in a tertiary care center in south India.

resultsMost of the patients belonged to the age group of 26-30 years, with a slight male preponderance. Genital ulcer was the predominant presenting complaint (60%), followed by dysuria (32%) and genital growth (29%). Genital ulcer was the most common lesion (56%), followed by other genital lesions (37%) and extragenital lesions (18%). Among the investigations, Tzanck smear was most commonly seen positive (62.3% of 61 patients), followed by positive potassium hydroxide mount and Venereal Disease Research Laboratory. About 35.5% of the male patients and 60.53% of the female patients had multiple diagnoses. In males, herpes genitalis (29.76%) was the most common STD, followed by condyloma accuminata (23.08%). In females, candidal vulvovaginitis (28.12%) was the most common STD, followed by herpes genitalis (23.43%).

conclusionOur study found genital ulcer as the most common symptom and sign of STD in HIV-infected patients. Herpes genitalis was the most common STD among males and candidal vulvovaginitis was the most common STD among females.