Background: Dermatological manifestations in patients with HIV are often the initial sign of
infection and act as a marker of disease progression. This study examined the principal skin
manifestations in HIV-positive patients hospitalized at Clinica Universitaria Bolivariana (CUB) in
Colombia.
Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed the medical records of HIV-positive patients,
aged 18 years and over, who had a consult placed to dermatology. The frequency (%) and
median (interquartile range: Q1-Q3) were estimated to describe the patient characteristics. A
chi-square test was used to explore the association among the principal skin manifestations with
clinical and sociodemographic factors. Significance was defined as p<5%.
Results: Of the 92 patients included in the study, 69.2% were HIV stage 3, 38% had skin
manifestations prior to hospitalization, and 43.6% had CD4 counts <200 cell/µL within the past 3
months. During hospitalization, 59.8% of patients were diagnosed with a skin manifestation, the
majority had viral loads >100,000 copies (81.3%) (P=0.026), were HIV stage 3 (73%) (P=0.001),
had CD4 counts <200 cell/µL (72,7%) (P=0.011), and were not receiving antiretroviral therapy
(ART) (71%). Fifty-five patients (64%) had infectious skin manifestations, while the remaining
(36%) were non-infectious. Most infectious dermatological manifestations during hospitalization
were in patients not receiving ART (64.5%). The most frequent agents were fungi (54.5%),

specifically, Candida spp (63.3%); viruses (38.2%) with Herpes simplex virus (52.38%) as the
most common; and Treponema pallidum (7.3%), the only bacteria reported. The most frequent
non-infectious skin manifestations were drug reactions due to ART (55.5%).
Conclusions: The most common skin manifestations were of infectious etiology. These findings
can help physicians suspect the disease and initiate prompt treatment in resource-limited areas.