Ocular Lesions Associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

This study was undertaken to document the various ocular manifestations in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected individuals and to correlate such findings with CD4+ T lymphocyte levels in individuals with ocular manifestations.

A total of 150 patients known to be HIV positive referred to a tertiary level army hospital were included in this cross sectional study. All patients underwent complete ophthalmic evaluation. CD4+ count was done only in patients in whom ocular lesions were noted.

Most patients (54.66%) were in the 31-40 years age group. Majority of patients (84.66%) were males. Infection was sexually acquired in 91.33% by heterosexual mode. Majority of cases (34%) examined had presented within 12-18 months of being detected positive for HIV. Ocular involvement was present in 76 (50.66%) cases and the commonest ocular lesion encountered was cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in 23 (30.26%) cases. CD4+ count less than 50 cells/µl was consistently associated with ocular manifestations in 36.84% of HIV positive patients.

This study showed the whole spectrum of ocular lesions in HIV positive cases from CMV retinitis to adnexal lesions. No case of ocular Kaposi's sarcoma was seen in this study.