Abstract

Thirty children perinatally exposed to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and 30 healthy control subjects matched for age, sex, and race were evaluated for growth, head size, craniofacial dysmorphism, dermatoglyphics, and other physical features. Thirteen patients met the criteria for group IV (constitutional, neurologic, and secondary infectious diseases), 14 for group III (persistent generalized lymphadenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly), and three for group II (asymptomatic infection) of the classification of HIV infection established by the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta. Postnatal growth failure and microcephaly, observed in a significant proportion of patients (46.7% and 30%, respectively), could be attributed to chronic illnesses and to progressive central nervous system lesions in HIV-infected patients. There were however, no significant differences between patients and controls with regard to the incidence of craniofacial features and dermatoglyphics, and the incidence of other anomalies was not different from that expected in the population. The patients born to drug-using mothers were not different from those born to non-drug-using mothers in relation to the studied criteria. We could not confirm the presence of characteristic craniofacial dysmorphism in children exposed to perinatal HIV infection.