Early neurologic abnormalities in HIV infection

To the Editor: We believe that Koralnik et al. have overemphasized the usefulness of electrophysiologic tests in their report (Sept. 27 issue)¹ on asymptomatic men seropositive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Their conclusion — that “in persons with asymptomatic HIV infection, electrophysiologic tests may be the most sensitive indicators of subclinical neurologic impairment” —is likely to mislead physicians into performing these tests unnecessarily in HIV-seropositive patients. Koralnik et al. report electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormalities, using an artificial scale that is not standard in the usual practice of electroencephalography. Many factors in their table of EEG abnormalities (Table 1) are generally.