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Epidemiologic and clinical findings of children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in four provinces of Iran

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Summary

Introduction

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is still a remarkable challenge throughout the world, especially in developing countries. Despite the fact that HIV in children is becoming one of the most challenging diseases, it seems that pediatric AIDS in Iran is an unknown disease and there is a lack of studies about it. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of HIV-positive children who referred to the hospitals of Tehran, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and Qom provinces of Iran.

Materials and methods

This study was a retrospective investigation of medical records among 61 children with a diagnosis of HIV who were admitted to the children’s hospitals in the four provinces of Iran during a 3-year period (2013–2016).

Results

The frequency of HIV in the center of Iran (Tehran and Qom provinces) was higher (N = 37, 61%). Most of the infected patients were between 5 and 15 years old, 52% were male, and 93% had a history of HIV in their family. Median age at diagnosis of HIV was 2 years. Most of the hospitalized patients were discharged and only two patients (3%) died due to HIV infection. The vast majority of patients (93%) were infected through maternal transmission and a low percentage (29%) were diagnosed before 1 year of age. All of them were in the third stage of the disease. All patients had a positive HIV PCR test. HIV EIA was positive in the majority of cases (98%). A history of addiction in the family was demonstrated in 22 cases (36%). Weight loss (N = 51, 84%), prolonged fever (N = 50, 81%), and respiratory infection (N = 26, 47%) were the most common symptoms.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated a high frequency of pediatric HIV among children aged 5–15 years in four provinces of Iran. Novel strategies to prevent and eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, diagnostic facilities, and treatment of infected mothers during pregnancy in our country are highly recommended.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Infectious Disease Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    Shima Mahmoudi, Babak Pourakbari, Mina Moradzadeh &  Setareh Mamishi

  2. Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran

    Zahra Movahedi

  3. Nosocomial Infection Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Keyghobad Ghadiri

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Sanandaj University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

    Masoumeh Abedini

  5. Radiology department, Rasool-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Alireza Aziz-Ahari

  6. Clinical Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

    Amitis Ramezani

  7. Department of Infectious Diseases, Pediatrics Center of Excellence, Children’s Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Setareh Mamishi

  8. Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Children Medical Center Hospital, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, No. 62, Gharib St., Keshavarz Blvd., Tehran, Iran

    Setareh Mamishi

Authors
  1. Shima Mahmoudi
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  2. Babak Pourakbari
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  3. Mina Moradzadeh
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  4. Zahra Movahedi
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  5. Keyghobad Ghadiri
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  6. Masoumeh Abedini
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  7. Alireza Aziz-Ahari
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  8. Amitis Ramezani
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  9. Setareh Mamishi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Setareh Mamishi.

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Conflict of interest

S. Mahmoudi, B. Pourakbari, M. Moradzadeh, Z. Movahedi, K. Ghadiri, M. Abedini, A. Aziz-Ahari, A. Ramezani, and S. Mamishi declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Pasteur Institute of Iran ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Mahmoudi, S., Pourakbari, B., Moradzadeh, M. et al. Epidemiologic and clinical findings of children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in four provinces of Iran. Wien Med Wochenschr 170, 212–217 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-019-0703-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-019-0703-1

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