Objective:To analyze and compare the clinical features of children diagnosed with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS)or suspected of being infected with the disease.Methods:The clinical history of 8 cases of children diagnosed with AIDS and 10 cases of children suspected of being infected with the disease from April

2006～September

2009 was analyzed and compared.Results:In both groups

clinical symptoms of most patients appeared in infancy period.Most of the patients came from the rural area

and their parents’ medical history was very important for the diagnosis of AIDS in the children.The clinical manifestation was varied

but the most common one was blood disease;infection was nonspecific and mainly repeated respiratory or digestive system infection;the counts of CD4+ lymphocyte and the ratio of CD4+ to CD8+ lymphocyte were decreased;some of the patients were registered as congenital malformation.The difference between the two groups was that the group suspected of being infected with AIDS was more serious than the diagnosed group.The most cases of the diagnosed AIDS in children were mother-to-child transmission

followed by that of blood transmission

but all cases of the suspected patients were mother-to-child transmission.Conclusion:The clinical manifestations of AIDS in children are varied and nonspecific;it often needs repeated medical visits because of the same symptom or disease.Patients with hematological manifestations are often more serious than others.Clinically

children who are suspected of AIDS should get examination of antibody to HIV

and lymphocyte count and classification.