Abstract: Objective  To explore characteristics of clinical and imaging manifestations of children with AIDS complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis.  Methods  The retrospective analysis of clinical data and imaging manifestations of 38 children with AIDS complicated with confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis was conducted.  Results  All of the 38 children suffered from the disease through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) (100.00%,38/38), with clinical manifestations of growth retardation and malnutrition with different degrees usually accompanied by fever(23), cough(22), dyspnea(9), diarrhea(8), skin rash(6), emesis(4), headache and somnolence(3) etc. Moreover, there were 7 cases of AIDS complicated with penicillium marneffei (PM) (18.42%,7/38) and 5 cases of AIDS complicated with pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (13.16%,5/38). Imaging manifestations were as follows: there were 25 children with lesions located in two lung fields (65.79%,25/38), 6 children with lesions in dorsal segment of upper lobe and (or) lower lobe (15.79%,6/38), 1 child with lesions in right middle lobe (2.63%,1/38), 2 children with lesions in basal segment of lower lobe lung (5.26%,2/38) and 4 children with lesions in basal segment of lower lobe of bilateral lung (10.53%,4/38). The morphological features were mainly displayed as follows: 22 cases of patch (57.89%,22/38) and 6 cases of large patch (15.79%,6/38), 4 cases of ground glass opacity (10.53%,4/38), 5 cases of nodule (13.16%,5/38), 1 case of streak form (2.63%,1/38), 2 cases complicated with cavity formation (5.26%,2/38), 25 cases of intrathoracic and extrathoracic lymphadenectasis (65.79%,25/38), 7 cases of little pleural effusion (18.42%,7/38), 2 cases of little pericardial effusion (5.26%,2/38). In the follow-up, 27 children took a change for the better (71.05%,27/38), where 3 children once suffered from immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), 5 children were not healed (13.16%,5/38), 6 children were died (15.79%,6/38).  Conclusion  Clinical manifestations of children with AIDS complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis are diversified without specificity. Imaging examination has a value in diagnosing this disease and clearly indicating the distribution and patterns of intrapulmonary lesions, intrathoracic lymphadenectasis and pleural effusion etc. And might provide an important basis for the clinical diagnosis.

Key words: Tuberculosis, pulmonary/radiography, Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Radiography, thoracic, Child