Page 340 - HIVMED_v21_i1.indb

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in South African studies evaluating cutaneous manifestations provided critical revisions of content. All authors reviewed
of HIV in the pre-ART era. 9,10 In general, PLWH in the ART the draft versions and approved the final version of the
era are increasingly older and have a near-normal life manuscript.
expectancy. 5,31 Our findings are similar to those in a recent
study performed at a specialised TB hospital in the Western Funding information
Cape, which reported a mean age of 37 years in patients co-
infected with TB and HIV. Historically, ART eligibility This study was funded by the John Moche research grant,
12
criteria in South Africa allowed for pregnant women to be Dermatology Society of South Africa.
initiated on ART at higher CD4+ cell counts compared with
the general adult HIV-positive population. The routine Data availability statement
32
surveillance of HIV during antenatal care may explain the The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of
increased proportion of females in this study as maternal this study are available within the article.
services form an important referral pathway for ART services.

Our study has some limitations. Firstly, we emphasise that Disclaimer
the accurate diagnoses of dermatoses can be challenging in The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of
HIV-positive patients because of the atypical presentation of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or
skin disorders. Secondly, because of the cross-sectional position of any affiliated agency of the authors.
nature of the study, the true prevalence of skin conditions in
this study population may be underestimated. Long-term References
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