Abstract
To review the neurologic manifestations of AIDS in patients who were admitted to Hospital Guilherme Alvaro (HGA) due to any clinical manifestation of the disease. Case series. All HIV+ patients admitted to the Faculty Hospital (HGA) between July 96 and April 97 were included in this review. From the 117 HIV+ patients admitted to hospitalization due to AIDS-related symptoms, 50 (42.7%) presented neurologic manifestations. The most prevalent of these was neurotoxoplasmosis (68%), but a variety of other neurologic diseases were observed. Only 36% of these 50 patients had neurological signs and symptoms as the main complaint for admission, 12% of the patients had at least complained of some neurologic dysfunction at the time of admission and 10% had no neurologic complaints at all. The remaining 42% (21 patients) only complained of neurologic manifestations of AIDS when specifically asked. The prevalence of neurologic manifestations of AIDS is very high in patients admitted to hospital. Even in the absence of neurologic-related complaints, these patients have to be carefully questioned and examined in the search for an underlying neurologic complication which may present high morbidity and mortality.
Highlights
I n the past decade, clinical and laboratorial research has provided new insights into the mechanisms of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and its neurologic manifestations
Neurologic manifestations of AIDS have become more prevalent as prompt diagnosis and treatment for opportunistic infections lead to longer life.[9]. Recognition of neurologic involvement in AIDS patients is crucial for changing the quality of life and survival time for these patients
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can affect the nervous system at every level, opportunistic infections in the central nervous system can produce a variety of signs and symptoms, and even the treatment for these patients may provide neurologic complications.[1]. Clinicians must be attentive to the fact that AIDS patients may present myopathy due to HIV[10] and/or the anti-viral treatment,(11) as they can be confused, disorientated and aggressive due to HIV dementia[12] or to psychosis related to the use of or withdrawal from illegal drugs.[13]
Summary
I n the past decade, clinical and laboratorial research has provided new insights into the mechanisms of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and its neurologic manifestations. Address for correspondence: Yára Dadalti Fragoso Faculdade de Ciências Médicas de Santos Rua Osvaldo Cruz, 179 Santos/SP - Brasil - CEP 11045-000 system and dementia is a frequent manifestation of such infection,(1,2) in the final stages of the disease.[3] This neurologic complication is relatively well known by the patients, their relatives and their physicians, but it is far from being the only one in the natural course of AIDS Together with this dementia, new neurologic syndromes have been described and AIDS has been added to the differential diagnosis of a variety of manifestations of diseases of the nervous system.[4]. Neurologic manifestations of AIDS: a review of fifty cases in Santos
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