University of Dar es Salaam School of Health Sciences

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A comparative study of endemic and epidemic Kaposi's Sarcoma in the era of HIV infection at Muhimbili Medical Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1993) Bakari, Muhammad
A prospective study involving 81 histologically proven adult KS patients seen in the skin clinic as well as surgical and medical wards was conducted at the Muhimbili Medical Centre, Dar es Salaam between 1st April and 31st December 1992 to ascertain the pattern, clinical behaviour and immunological profile of KS. It was found that the number of patients with KS has increased and that the dominant clinic oepidemiological form of the disease was the HIV-related epidemic KS which presented with a more disseminated and aggressive disease and generally a poor prognosis. Patients with epidemic KS had profound reductions in their circulating CD4-lymphocytes and inverted CD4:CD8 ratio. Most of these patients also presented with other HIV-related illnesses. Increased awareness of the various clinical presentations of Kaposi's sarcoma among health care workers is important in this era of HIV infection so as to enable rational decisions on further management of patients with KS.