A Delayed Diagnosis: When HIV Dementia Masquerades as Depression
A case report details a 17-year-old boy who presented with progressive weakness, functional decline, and mood changes, initially suggestive of a psychiatric condition. A thorough workup ultimately revealed a new diagnosis of AIDS stemming from a perinatally acquired HIV infection that had gone undetected. The case underscores the critical need for pediatricians to maintain a high index of suspicion for HIV, even in adolescents with known psychiatric symptoms, to prevent severe disease progression.
Why it might matter to you:
This report highlights the diagnostic challenges of neuropsychiatric manifestations in perinatally acquired HIV, a population central to your research on long-term in utero exposures. It reinforces the importance of considering infectious etiologies in neurodevelopmental and behavioral presentations, which is directly relevant to understanding the clinical spectrum of outcomes in HIV-exposed children. For clinicians and researchers, it serves as a crucial reminder that the consequences of perinatal infection can unfold over decades, necessitating vigilant, lifelong follow-up.
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