METHOD: Review of the literature and case reports.
RESULT: This showed that the presence of parotid swelling in HIV-1 infection has increased from a range of 5-10% to 20% in AIDS. However, none had been primarily reported to the best of our knowledge in literature from sub-Saharan Africa, which is the epicenter of the HIV infection and where access to antiretroviral therapy is poorest. We document our experience with 5 cases of bilateral parotid gland enlargement as the presenting clinical manifestation of HIV/AIDS. The combination of fine needle aspiration biopsy, ultrasound imaging and histological diagnosis increased the accuracy of diagnosis. While two of our patients had access to antiretroviral therapy, other modes of management were cystic aspiration and parotidectomy. One of the patients treated with parotidectomy had facial nerve injury, and short-term aesthetic outcome between surgical treatment and antiretroviral therapy did not appear different. However, all our patients were lost to follow-up within a 2-year period.
CONCLUSION: For a resource-constrained environment like ours in Nigeria where stigma and discrimination is high and access to antiretroviral therapy is limited, there is a need to understand how best to manage lymphoepithelial lesion in HIV/AIDS patients.