ABSTRACT
Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may result in a variety of hair and nail changes, some of which may be the initial manifestation of the disease. Telogen effluvium, which presents as an acute to subacute diffuse noninflammatory alopecia, is the most common type of HIV-related hair loss. Hair straightening is a characteristic sign of HIV infection, especially in black patients. Onychomycosis is often a sign of HIV disease progression in an otherwise asymptomatic individual. Onychomycosis is most commonly caused by Trichophyton rubrum in both HIV-infected and non-infected individuals. The most common organism causing WSO is T. rubrum in HIV-infected patients and T. mentagrophytes in non-HIV-infected individuals. The antimicrobial susceptibility of organisms causing onychomycosis in HIV-infected patients appears to be the same as that in non-HIV-infected patients; therefore, treatment does not change based on HIV status. In the non-HIV-infected population chronic paronychia is usually caused by contact irritants or repeated exposure to water.
