The clinical features of HIV/
AIDS-related ocular manifestations in Korean patients were investigated in this study. Data on 200 consecutive Korean patients diagnosed with
AIDS who visited the Seoul National University Hospital from January 2003 to June 2008 were reviewed. Fifty-seven patients (28.5%) had ocular manifestations, and they showed significantly lower CD4+ T cell count than patients without ocular manifestations. Among them, 23 (40.3%) patients showed
retinal microvasculopathy, and 22 (38.5%) patients showed cytomegalovirus (CMV)
retinitis. Other manifestations included
retinal vein occlusion (n = 4),
herpes zoster ophthalmicus (n = 4), syphilitic
uveitis (n = 2),
acute retinal necrosis (n = 1), and progressive outer
retinal necrosis (n = 1). The mean CD4+ lymphocyte counts of the patients with
retinal microvasculopathy and
cytomegalovirus retinitis were 108.5 cells/µL and 69.4 cells/µL, respectively. In conclusion, ocular manifestations including CMV
retinitis are common complications in Korean patients with
AIDS even in the era of highly active anti-retroviral
therapy. Compared to previous reports in western countries, prevalence of CMV
retinitis is relatively low and CD4+ lymphocytes count at the time of diagnosis is relatively high.