[Prevalence of rheumatic manifestations in human immunodeficiency virus infection]

Various rheumatic manifestations have been reported in HIV infected patients, but the prevalence of these manifestations is not well known. Therefore, we have designed a prospective study to define the rheumatic manifestations in those patients.

121 patients (stage IV of CDC classification) were assessed by physical examination and biological tests.

arthralgia was found in 12.4%; painful articular syndrome occurred in 4.1%; arthritis was present in 6.6%; out of 8 cases of arthritis, only 2 had spondylarthropathy. The articular manifestations were mostly oligo- or polyarticular, rarely invalidating, sometimes recurrent. No septic arthritis, no myositis and only 1 case of vasculitis was found. Raynaud's phenomenon prevalence was 17.4%, 43% of which appeared after HIV seropositivity was known. Lacrymal hyposecretion assessed by Schirmer's test was found in 49.6%. However, this did not prove the existence of a Sjogren's syndrome as no histological examination was performed. Back pain reached 38.6%. Sciatic neuralgias were noted in 17.6%. Biological and immunological results were unspecific. Low levels of antinuclear antibodies were found in 11.1% cases. They were more frequently found when articular manifestations existed. A higher level of CD8 lymphocytes was also noted when articular manifestations were present. No statistical link existed between the different rheumatic manifestations.

our results show that the prevalence of rheumatic manifestations in HIV infection is slightly increased (24.7%). This study is the first to emphasize the frequency of Raynaud's phenomenon and lacrymal hyposecretion in HIV patients.