Skin manifestations of malnutrition in HIV-positive meningitis patients

Background HIV infection and meningitis are diseases which are known to precipitate malnutrition. Skin manifestations of malnutrition are easy to identify. We tried to describe the skin manifestations of malnutrition in HIV-positive patients with meningitis. Setting Patients included in the study were from a tertiary referral hospital in South India. Methods In a cross-sectional observational design, we studied 56 adult [> 14 years] HIV-seropositive patients with meningitis by clinical assessment of skin manifestations of malnutrition. Results Skin wasting (31.5%), hyperpigmentation of skin (22.2%) and skin ulceration (16.4%) were the chief skin manifestations of malnutrition in HIV-positive patients with meningitis. Conclusions Our study shows that certain cutaneous features of malnutrition like skin ulcers, skin wasting and hypo pigmentation are common in HIV patients with meningitis.