Comparative Analysis of the Clinic and the Course of Acute Diarrhea in Children with HIV Infection

The purpose of the study: to conduct a comparative analysis of the clinic and the course of acute diarrhea in children with HIV infection. Research materials and methods: The research materials included 261 HIV-infected children with diarrhea, 247 children with diarrhea without HIV infection aged 0—18 years. The diagnosis was established on the basis of clinical, virological, immunological, bacteriological, serological and statistical methods. Results. Most of the observed children (77%) with HIV infection were over the age of 3 years, and in the comparison group, more than half of the children (53.8%) were under the age of 3 years. In 86.5% of cases there was II or III stage of HIV infection. Significant differences in diarrhea in children with HIV infection com- pared with children with diarrhea without HIV infection were found in terms of the following signs: the presence of dehydration (70.5% and 50.6% of cases, re- spectively) and its severity (18.8% and 7.3% of cases, respectively, p < 0.05), the frequency of episodes of diarrhea per day more than 15 times (37.9% and 17.4%, p < 0.05) and its duration more than 6 days (56.3% and 32 .8%, p < 0.05), watery stools (39.5% and 25.9%, p < 0.05), foul-smelling feces (45.2% and 29.1%, p < 0, 05), green color (58.6% and 37.2%, p < 0.05) and the presence of pathological impurities in the form of blood (37.5% and 12.6%, p < 0.05) and pus (59 .8% and 23.1%, p < 0.05).