HIV Infection in hospitalized under-5 children with acute watery diarrhoea in Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The signs and symptoms of HIV/AIDS in children are not quite distinct because of similarities in clinical presentation between HIV infection and endemic tropical diseases. Diarrhoea, one of the cardinal symptoms of HIV/AIDS, is a common childhood disease. Objective: This study was conducted to find the prevalence of HIV infection among children admitted with acute watery diarrhoea in our diarrhoea treatment and training unit. Method: Consecutive children aged below 5 years admitted into the unit with diarrhoea were recruited. The children were examined. The parents were counseled before blood was taken for HIV screening. In addition, parents of children who were sero-positive for HIV were also screened. Results: One hundred and fifty- two who made the inclusion criteria were studied. Eight (5.3%) were sero-positive for HIV, five of them being males. None of these mothers had antenatal care and they were all delivered at either hoe or traditional attendants' homes. All were under weight and six of them presented with severe dehydration. These factors reached statistical significant differences between children who were sero-positive and those who were not. None of these eight patients died from acute watery diarrhoea but two of them eventually died from complications of persistent diarrhoea. Conclusion: Children with HIV may present with acute watery diarrhoea. Children with diarrhoea that are underweight with severe dehydration whose sero-status are not known should be screened for HIV.