[HIV infection and mortality in the dermatology department in Lomé, Togo].

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to document the causes of death in the dermatology department in Lome´ and the role of HIV infection in those deaths.

PATIENTS AND METHOD: This retrospective study examined the records of all patients admitted to this department from 1992 through 2012.

RESULTS

During the study period, 52 (13.5%) of the 386 patients hospitalized in the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital dermatology department died in the hospital. Their mean age was 37.7 ± 12.8 years (range: 18 to 68 years) and half (26 patients/52) were female. Kaposi’s sarcoma (54.1%) was the most lethal skin disease, followed by cutaneous drug reactions (12.5%) and herpes zoster virus infection (11.1%). Of the 52 patients who died, HIV serology was positive in 28 of the 33 (84.8%) patients tested. The most lethal diseases, including Kaposi’s sarcoma, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (toxic epidermic necrolysis), and chicken pox/shingles skin diseases were those in which HIV seroprevalence was highest.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that HIV infection plays an important role in mortality in the dermatology department at Lome´, probably through the immunosuppression it induces.