Study of Adenoid Hypertrophy in HIV Infected Individuals at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Aim: To study the status of adenoids in HIV infected individuals. Introduction: Adenoid is the condensation of lymphoid tissue at the posterosuperior wall of nasopharynx. Adenoids are part of waldeyer's ring. It is considered to have a crucial role in immunological memory of child. There are reported and documented evidences of adenoid hypertrophy in Human Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV) infected individuals but there lack a large study of such cases. The idea of present study is to observe the status of adenoids in HIV infected individuals. Materials & Methods: The study was conducted in department of otolaryngology of a tertiary care hospital. Patients were selected randomly from the register of ART centre of hospital that was undergoing treatment. 100 patients were selected who gave consent to include in study. A thorough otolaryngology examination was carried out which also included anterior rhinoscopy. All patients were then subjected to diagnostic nasal endoscopy. Adenoid status was recorded and X- ray neck soft tissue lateral view was done to confirm adenoid hypertrophy. Results: The mean age of patients was 37.6 years. Most of the patients (61%) were in age group of 31-45 years. Most of the patients (47%) have third degree of adenoid hypertrophy. 42% patients have insignificant (I and II degree) adenoid hypertrophy and 58% had significant (III and IV degree). Conclusion: Adenoid hypertrophy is uncommon among adult individuals. It is significantly present in HIV infected adult individuals and should be ruled out as cause of nasal complaints.