ABSTRACT
Patients with HIV infection may also be taking photosensitizing drugs such as sulfamethoxazoletrimethoprim or using photosensitizers such as those found in colognes and perfumes. Some dermatologists have noted new adult-onset atopic dermatitis in patients with HIV infection, typical flexural lichenification, or sometimes other patterns of lichenification, and other reports have suggested an association of childhood atopic dermatitis onset or worsening with HIV infection. Bowser et al. found a prevalence of atopy and pattern of aeroallergen sensitivity in perinatally HIV-infected children comparable to that of the general US population of children. Skin biopsy often reveals a lichenoid dermatitis with increased eosinophils, sometimes accompanied by a peripheral eosinophilia and elevated IgE. The diagnosis of atopic dermatitis in an immunocompetent host is made on the basis of a primary feature: pruritus, a chronic relapsing dermatitis manifested by lichenification in flexural areas in adults and older children. Drug eruptions can be included in the differential diagnosis of many dermatoses.
