Structural echocardiographic abnormalities seen in HIV/AIDS patients are independent of CD4 count.
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Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria.
Abstract
Introduction: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remains
one of the most daunting public health challenges today. Cardiac involvement
in HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is frequent and has been
recognized on autopsy since the emergence of the pandemic. The objective of the
study was to assess the pattern of structural echocardiographic (echo) findings in
HIV/AIDS patients and compare this to the echo findings in apparently healthy
HIV‑negative controls. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty HIV‑
positive patients were recruited consecutively from the HIV patients attending the
University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, North Central, Nigeria. One hundred
and fifty age‑ and sex‑matched controls were also recruited from the surrounding
community. All the individuals had clinical examination, electrocardiography
(ECG) and echocardiography (echo) done. Results: ECG abnormalities were
seen in 55.3% of the HIV‑positive patients compared with 2.7% of controls (P <
0.001). The overall prevalence of echo abnormalities among the patients was 54%,
against 15.3% (P < 0.001) of the controls. All the structural dimensions of the
cardiac chambers were significantly greater than the cardiac chamber dimensions
in the controls except for left atrial dimension (LAD). When the patients were
considered in two groups of those with CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm
3
than
those with CD4 count more than 200 cells/mm
3
, the structural chamber dimensions
were similar between both groups. Conclusions: Echo is an important tool for
detecting cardiac abnormalities in HIV/AIDS patients. There is a high prevalence
of echo abnormalities among HIV patients seen in our centre. The HIV infection
was associated with increased structural dimensions of cardiac chambers compared
with HIV‑negative controls. This however did not seem to be related to disease
severity as the chamber dimensions were similar between those with CD4 count
below and above 200 cells/mm
3
.
Description
Keywords
Echocardiography, CD4 count, human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Citation
Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice 20(6):716-23.