Comparison of patterns of male genital dermatoses in HIV seropositive versus seronegative individuals – An observational study from North India

Abstract Background: Venereal and nonvenereal genital dermatoses at times tend to appear similar creating confusion while diagnosing. This may be a matter of considerable concern to the patients and may cause diagnostic dilemma to the treating physician. Since HIV infection significantly escalates the likelihood of contracting another sexually transmitted pathogen, these infections are commonly assumed to be venereal in nature. However, after the advent of effective anti-retroviral therapy, increase in the lifespan of HIV-positive population has been observed which has led to the inclusion of nonvenereal genital dermatoses as well. However, there is a paucity of data comparing the pattern of various genital dermatoses in seropositive and seronegative patients. The aim of our study was to compare the pattern of various venereal and nonvenereal genital dermatological conditions in seropositive and seronegative male patients. Materials and Methods: We enrolled all male patients in the age group of 0–80 years. A detailed history was obtained and clinical examination was done, along with relevant investigations as per the requirement to reach the final diagnosis. Results: A total of 802 cases were enrolled in the study. Out of these, nonvenereal dermatoses constituted 492 (61.3%) and venereal dermatoses had 310 (38.7%) cases. HIV seropositivity was found in 47 cases (5.86%). There were 6.77% cases of venereal dermatoses and 5.28% cases of nonvenereal dermatoses in HIV-positive patients in our study. Among the 47 HIV-positive males with genital dermatoses, herpes genitalis was found to be the most common venereal disease which constituted 11 cases (23.40%). Other cases included genital warts (14.89%), genital molluscum contagiosum (4.25%), and syphilis (2.12%). Among the nonvenereal diseases in HIV-positive males, Tinea cruris was the most common, affecting 29.78% of cases, followed by scabies (21.27%), candidal balanoposthitis (2.12%), and lichen simplex chronicus (2.12%). In HIV-negative patients, genital warts (41.18%) were the most commonly found venereal disease among others and scabies (26.39%) was the most common nonvenereal genital disease. Conclusion: From our study, it was concluded that nonvenereal genital dermatoses were more in number as compared to venereal dermatoses in both HIV-positive and HIV-negative males. This study was valuable for understanding the epidemiological, clinical, and etiological characteristics of various genital skin conditions, both venereal and nonvenereal, and comparing them between HIV-positive and HIV-negative groups.