Assessment of HIV infected children followed in istanbul Medical Faculty Pediatric Infection Department

Assessment of HIV Infected Children Followed in Istanbul Medical Faculty Pediatric Infection Department Objectives: In this study, it is aimed to contribute to the national epidemiological data by reviewing examine the transmission route, symptoms, clinical markers, drugs used in treatment, opportunistic infections and comorbidities encountered in the hospital with HIV infected children cases. Methods: The study included 49 patients under the age of 18, who were followed up to HIV infection from the Istanbul University Istanbul Medical Faculty Pediatric Infection Department Wards, between January 2000 and December 2020. The patients were retrospectively grouped according to their immunological and clinical stages and age ranges. Data on demographic characteristics, disease stages, modes of transmission, comorbidities, physical examination, laboratory findings and treatment processes were analyzed. Results: The most type of transmission was vertical transmission with a rate of 59.2%. The median age of patients is 6.44 years. 63.3% of our patients have at least one physical examination finding and most common finding was lymphadenopathy. The most prescribed antiretroviral therapy consisted of Zidovudine, Lamivudine and Ritonavir / Lopinavir. No significant relationship was found between transmission type and age groups, and comorbidities or mortality. However the risk of lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia is increases in advanced clinical stages. There withal the risk of hepatomegaly and lymphopenia was found to be significantly higher in the progressed immunological stage. There wasn't found significant relationship between clinical and immunological stages and cranial MRI findings, echocardiography findings, or decreased GFR according to the mode of transmission. We detected the pathological changes in echocardiography 16.3% of our patients, also the most common echocardiographic finding was mitral insufficiency. Cranial MR imaging was found to be pathological in 20.4%. Conclusions: Our study were foundsociodemographic characteristics of the cases to be compatible with the data of Turkey. Vertical transmission and sexual intercourse seem to be the most important transmission routes when the modes of transmission are examined. Symptoms and findings in patients vary widely, and disease progression brings opportunistic infections and increased risk of comorbidity. Opportunistic infections occurring in HIV patients differ in various geographies, however tuberculosis is the most important and common one in our country. Comorbidities compared to some data in the literature were observed at a lower rate in our patients. Early diagnosis is essential for early initiation of antiretroviral therapy, and issues such as patienst screening and patient education are important in this context. As the last word HIV is a global health problem that has affected the world, and the fight against the disease will continue on a global scale with the catchword of shared responsibility.