Adult-onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis at a South African Referral Hospital

The aim of this study was to describe the clinical presentation and outcome of patients with adult-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (AoRRP) in a developing country with the challenges of poor health care access and high prevalence of HIV infection.

This was a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with AoRRP who were managed in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa over a 10 year period.

There were a total of 41 patients, of which 26 (63.4%) were male. The age at diagnosis ranged between 16.4 and 67.4 years (mean 39.4 ± 14.9 years). All patients presented with a hoarse voice, with three patients also having upper airway obstruction. Eight (19.5%) patients were HIV positive. HPV typing was performed in 29 patients; 14 had HPV11 disease, 12 had HPV6 disease and in 3 patients HPV DNA was not detected. There was no significant difference in initial presentation or outcome between HIV negative and HIV positive patients, or between patients with HPV6 and HPV11 disease. Two patients had malignant transformation of the papillomas. In both these patients, HPV was not detected in the papillomas.

HPV type and HIV infection did not appear to influence the clinical presentation and outcome in patients with AoRRP. There is a risk of malignant transformation in patients in which HPV is not detected in the papillomas.