Histopathologic and immunohistochemical findings associated with inflammatory dermatoses in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 disease and their correlation with Walter Reed stage. Military Medical Consortium for Applied Retroviral Research.

Abstract

Cutaneous lesions are common in patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. In many cases they are nonspecific inflammatory dermatoses. Our goal was to determine whether features of these inflammatory dermatoses were characteristic of HIV-1 infection and whether the changes correlated with the stage of disease. Biopsy specimens of inflammatory dermatoses from 176 HIV-1-infected patients in all Walter Reed stages were reviewed and the changes were compared with each WR stage. The changes found were nonspecific but were suggestive of features described in graft-versus-host disease and became more prominent in late-stage disease. A correlation was found between the changes and the stage of disease, and the findings add support to prior reports that at least some of the changes in HIV-1 infection may be autoimmune in origin.