Background Dermatological conditions are common manifestations in HIV infected patients. They may appear as the initial presentation of HIV infection, during the course of the infection or as adverse events due to antiretroviral treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of skin diseases in HIV infected patients monitored in an infectious diseases clinic in Turkey.

Methods This study included HIV positive patients monitored in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (IDCM), Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. According to a protocole between the Department IDCM and Department of Dermatology and Venereology, starting from February 2011, all patients presenting to the IDCM clinic for the first time with an HIV infection were screened for dermatological conditions on first visit and on each following visit by the infectious diseases physician. In addition, patients who have been monitored in the same clinic were questioned for any dermatological complaints on each visit. Patients with a dermatological condition were referred to the Dermatology and Venereology Clinic for further diagnosis and treatment. The records of the patients were reviewed retrospectively.

Results The study comprised 187 HIV-infected patients from February 2011 to February 2013. Twenty-four patients (12.8%) were diagnosed with 40 dermatological conditions. While 16 patients (66.6%) had only one dermatological condition, 8 patients had more than one condition (3 patients with 2 dermatological manifestations, 2 patients with 3, 2 patients with 4 and 1 patient with 5). The most common dermatological manifestations were herpes genitalis (3 patients) and genital warts (3 patients), followed by molluscum contagiosum (2 patients).

Conclusion Through screening of HIV-infected patients for skin manifestations and collaboration with the Dermatology and Venereology Clinic may result with earlier diagnosis and treatment of the skin disease and a higher quality of life for the patient.