Fetal AIDS syndrome score. Correlation between severity of dysmorphism and age at diagnosis of immunodeficiency
R. W. Marion, A. A. Wiznia, R. G. Hutcheon and A. Rubinstein
To objectively evaluate the fetal acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, we
have developed a scoring system based on the presence of the characteristic
features that we have previously reported. Using this scoring system, 37
children seropositive for the human immunodeficiency virus were classified
into three groups: dysmorphologically severely affected (12 children);
moderately affected (15 children); and mildly affected (ten children).
There was a statistically significant correlation between the severity of
the dysmorphic features and both the presence of opportunistic infections
within the first year of life and the age at onset of symptoms associated
with immune dysfunction, with the more severely stigmatized children
manifesting symptoms at a younger age. There was no correlation, however,
between severity of the dysmorphic features and presence of opportunistic
infections at the time of our examination. We conclude that this scoring
system may be useful in presymptomatic identification of severely
dysmorphic human immunodeficiency virus-infected infants.
