Manifestaciones cutáneas en donantes de sangre portadores de HTLV-1 en comparación con donantes de sangre no portadores de HTLV-1

Background: Most human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infected individuals are asymptomatic, but they commonly present cutaneous lesions that could be considered warning signs of the disease. Aim: To identify the main cutaneous manifestations present in HTLV-1 infected blood donors and compare them with healthy donors. Materials and methods: Two blood donor groups from the blood bank of an emergency hospital were matched according to gender and age. One group was formed by HTLV-1 (+) (cases) and the other by HTLV-1 (-) donors (controls). A blind examiner to the serologic condition, evaluated their cutaneous manifestations. Results: Twenty five cases and 25 controls aged 18 to 60 years (24 females) were evaluated. One or more cutaneous manifestations were found in 24 (96%) cases and in 15 (60%) controls (p< 0.01). Inflammatory cutaneous diseases were found in 19 (76%) cases and in 9 (36%) controls (p< 0.01). Dermatophytosis was found in 18 (72%) cases and in 12 (48%) controls (NS). Conclusions: HTLV-1 infected Chilean subjects have a higher frequency of dermatoses than their healthy counterparts.