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Ask the Experts about Opportunistic Infections

 

Tonsils & HIV infection
Dec 22, 2001

Hi Doctor,

I'd like to ask... Are swollen tonsils a common finding in HIV infection?

And would it be common for either one or both tonsils to remain enlarged persistantly through early HIV infection and during chronic stage.

Sorry for what seems like an infatuation concerning the tonsils but, I'm reading a lot of information just lately related to tonsilar tissue and HIV replication, therefore I am somewhat assuming that the tonsils must be a predominant site when looking for possible signs and symptoms of HIV infection?

Thank you!

Response from Dr. Feinberg

Tonsils are lymphoid tissue, so they can be enlarged as part of HIV disease just like any other lymph node can. Lymphoid tissue swelling comes and goes throughout the course of HIV disease, so I can't say whether tonsils would be persistently swollen through certain disease stages or not-- it's too variable.



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