Objective: To determine the prevalence of signs and symptoms of HTLV-1 and 2 infection in paediatric patients.
Methods: We included cohort, case-control and descriptive observational studies that reported the prevalence of signs and symptoms of HTLV-1 and 2 infections in paediatric patients. Searches were performed in MEDLINE® (Ovid), EMBASE and LILACS from inception to the present, and we saturated information with other sources of published and unpublished literature. We decided not to perform meta-analysis according to heterogeneity.
Results: A total of eight studies met the inclusion criteria for qualitative analysis. No studies of HTLV-2 were found. Females predominated and there was vertical transmission in nearly 100% of cases. Infective dermatitis was a common manifestation of HTLV in paediatric patients. In addition, persistent hyperreflexia, clonus and the Babinski sign were early neurological alterations observed in patients carrying the virus.
Conclusion: HTLV screening is recommended in patients presenting infective dermatitis, persistent hyperreflexia, walking disturbances and in those who come from endemic zones.
Keywords: HTLV-I; HTLV-II; child signs and symptoms; tropical spastic paraparesis.
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