Diagnosis and management of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are scarcely described in the published literature. The aim of this systematic review was to delineate the triggers of HLH in patients with HIV and understand the role of steroids in the management. We conducted a comprehensive search of English medical literature via the Medline/ PubMed database using different synonyms of "HIV" AND "HLH". The review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42018099987). The titles and abstracts of the 185 articles between January 1986 and April 2018 were reviewed.
The final analysis was done from 42 articles with 52 patients. HLH was associated with malignancy in 17 patients, while infection was found in 25 patients. No cause was identified in eight patients, out of which four had acute HIV infection. Death was reported in 21…
