Otolaryngologic and head and neck manifestations of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) frequently present with signs and symptoms referable to the head and neck. Three hundred ninety-nine patients with AIDS presented at the University of California, San Francisco and its affiliated hospitals from 1980 to April 1984. One hundred sixty-five patients (41%) with AIDS presented with, or had on initial evaluation, head and neck manifestations. Of that group, 58 (35%) had cutaneous, oral, and pharyngeal lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma; 51 (31%) had oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, or laryngeal candidiasis; 36 (22%) had chronic cough and shortness of breath; 13 (8%) had rapidly enlarging neck masses; and 7 (4%) had herpes simplex lesions. With the increasing number of cases of AIDS it is important for the otolaryngologist to be aware of these presentations.