Craniofacial morphology of HIV-positive children and adolescents undergoing antiretroviral therapy: A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: In this study, we aimed to analyze craniofacial morphology by assessing the skeletal cephalometric profiles of HIV-positive patients receiving antiretroviral therapy.

METHODS: For this study, 21 HIV-positive patients aged between 6 and 17 years (study group) were selected and compared with 21 normoreactive patients (control group), paired by sex and age. The patients were also divided into 3 age ranges (6-8, 9-12, and 13-17 years) considering the pubertal growth spurt as the central event. Eighteen (linear and angular) measurements were traced on teleradiographs by using 2 methodologies. The mean values of each measurement were compared between the study and control groups by age range.

RESULTS: The majority of the measurements checked in the HIV-positive children and adolescents for the 13-to-17 year age range were diminished, but not enough to generate a statistically significant difference in craniofacial growth. Statistically significant differences (P <0.05) were found only in the inclination of the palatal plane (6-8 years) and the position of the maxilla in the anteroposterior direction (13-17 years).

CONCLUSIONS: These results led us to conclude that some cephalometric measurements of HIV-positive children and adolescents may be similar to those of normoreactive subjects.