[Ocular manifestations of children living with HIV/AIDS in Kinshasa]

to determine the frequency of ocular manifestations in Congolese children aged 0 to 15 years infected with HIV/AIDS and to identify the predicted clinical and/or biological elements.

This was a prospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study performed from November 2010 to April 2011 in five sanitary structures who take care of children infected with HIV/AIDS. During the period of study, one hundred children infected with VIH/AIDS were examined. Seventy- six (76%) of children were under highly active anti-retrovial therapy (HAART). The age of children ranged from 0,5 month to 15 years. Children underwent a routine ophthalmic examination which included measurement of visual acuity, inspection of the adnexa and cornea, slit-lamp examination and dilated ophthalmoscopy. The CD4 lymphocyte count was determined in 88 of them.

The frequency of ocular manifestations was 36%. The mean age of children was 8 years (SD: 4.01; range 0,5 month-15 years). The male female sex ratio was 0.8/1. Ocular complaints were present in 22 children (22%). Visual symptoms were most frequent in children with severe decrease of immunity. Of four children identified with a visual handicap, one (1.5%) had blindness and three (4.4%) had visual impairment. All of these four children had a CD4 lymphocyte count less than 15%. Among ocular manifestations, the adnexial manifestations were the most frequent with 18 cases (18%) followed by the posterior segment manifestations with 14 cases (14%) and the neuroophthalmic lesions with 5 cases (5%).

This study documented 36% of ocular manifestations; this frequency is comparable with the other African studies. Comparatively to studies conducted in other continents the frequency in African studies is high. This study also showed that the adnexial manifestations are the most frequent ocular findings and that the children with severe decrease of immunity are most exposed to visual troubles that can lead to blindness.