| Abstract: | Patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) frequently present with signs and symptoms referable to the head and neck. Three hundred ninety-nine patients with AIDS presented at the University of California, San Francisco and its affiliated hospitals from 1980 to April 1984. One hundred sixty-five patients (41%) with AIDS presented with, or had on initial evaluation, head and neck manifestations. Of that group, 58 (35%) had cutaneous, oral, and pharyngeal lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma; 51 (31%) had oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, or laryngeal candidiasis; 36 (22%) had chronic cough and shortness of breath; 13 (8%) had rapidly enlarging neck masses; and 7 (4%) had herpes simplex lesions. With the increasing number of cases of AIDS it is important for the otolaryngologist to be aware of these presentations. |
