Cutaneous manifestations of HIV-1 infection

Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leads to a chronic disarmament of the immune system. The process is progressive, having different manifestations as the status of the immune system slowly deteriorates. Some of the most common manifestations of HIV infection are cutaneous in origin, and they can have infectious, neoplastic, or noninfectious or non-neoplastic etiologies. A brief history of HIV is given, and the most common cutaneous presentations of the virus infection of interest to podiatrists are outlined.