Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in infants and children: Report of nine cases

We report here nine children with AIDS. The risk factors of these patients were hemophilia in one, blood transfusions in four, maternal intravenous drug use in three and paternal AIDS in one. One baby was also of Haitian parentage. The major clinical symptoms included failure to thrive, hepatomegaly, lymphadenopathy, interstitial pneumonia, recurrent bacterial and viral infections and persistent oral thrush. Three infants had chronic recurrent parotitis. Five infants developed opportunistic infections, primarily Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and all five died of bacterial sepsis. None of the infants were lymphopenic but all had reversed T4/T8 ratios and poor in vitro lymphocyte responsers to pokeweed mitogens. Although many of the clinical and laboratory features of pediatric and adult AIDS are similar, there are some unique features for pediatric AIDS such as the absence of lymphopenia and the high prevalence of recurrent bacterial infections and sepsis.