Laryngeal pathology in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome has produced a growing population of patients who, because of their associated immune system compromise, are prone to opportunistic infections and neoplastic diseases. The larynx, with its relatively inaccessible yet critical anatomic location, is a site in which these processes can produce clinical dilemmas, with respect to diagnosis as well as to therapy. By presenting 4 cases involving unusual laryngeal problems in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), we emphasize these inherent diagnostic and therapeutic problems. Otolaryngologists must be familiar with the many diagnostic possibilities and therapeutic alternatives when HIV-infected patients present with laryngeal complaints.