Some aspects of aids with interest to ophthalmologists

Abstract

Several medical specialties are currently facing the problem of aids in terms of diagnosis therapy, prophylaxis or investigation. Ophthalmologists play an important role in the diagnosis and therapeutic orientation of some clinical conditions of aids. The most common ocular complications in patients with aids are always due to exacerbation of latent infectious processes acquired before the immunosuppression. These infections tend to disseminate, causing varied systemic manifestations with clinical signs and symptoms that are not always characteristic. Ocular involvement is a mere local manifestation of dissemination of the process and ophthalmologic evaluation may be essential for establishment of diagnosis, since the alterations observed at opthalmoscopy may indicate the etiology of the process. In this respect, we review some aspects of aids that may be of interest to ophthalmologists.