Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan-Mar;33(1):22-26.
doi: 10.4103/jcecho.jcecho_62_22. Epub 2023 May 29.

Correlate of Left Ventricular Systolic Function in Children with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection on Combined Highly Active Antiretroviral Medications in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano State

Nuhu Abubakar Garba  1 , Ibrahim Aliyu  2 , Fatimah Hassan-Hanga  2 , Ibrahim Ahmadu  3 , Muhammad Shakur Shakur Abubakar  3 , Mustafa O Asani  2
Affiliations

Correlate of Left Ventricular Systolic Function in Children with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection on Combined Highly Active Antiretroviral Medications in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano State

Nuhu Abubakar Garba et al. J Cardiovasc Echogr. 2023 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects many organ systems in the body including the cardiovascular system, often manifesting as a subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction that may progress to heart failure.

Aim: This study assessed the prevalence of LV systolic dysfunction in children on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with established clinical stage 1 HIV-disease.

Materials and methods: The study was a cross-sectional comparative study conducted in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital from April to August 2019 on 200. It involved study participants comprising 100 WHO clinical stage 1 HIV-infected children and 100 control subjects, aged between 1 and 18 years selected using systematic sampling method. Echocardiography was carried out on the study participants who had already completed a pretested questionnaire.

Results: Out of 100 HIV-infected children studied, 49 were males and 51 females (Male: Female ratio; 0.96:1.0). The mean age at diagnosis of HIV infection was 2.6 (±2.6 years) and the median viral load was 35 copies/ml. The mean ejection and shortening fractions in HIV-infected children were 59.0% and 31.0%, respectively, compared to 64.4% and 34.0% in control subjects, respectively, and were statistically significant (P = 0.000). The prevalence of LV systolic dysfunction was 8.0% (8 out of 100) in HIV-infected children while the control groups had zero prevalence (P = 0.002). The age at diagnosis correlated negatively with LV systolic dysfunction (r = 0.23, P = 0.02).

Conclusion: This study found a subclinical LV systolic dysfunction in an HAART-established clinical stage 1 HIV-infected children. The age at diagnosis was negatively correlated with the LV systolic function. This study, therefore, support the inclusion of routine echocardiography into the evaluation of HIV-infected children.

Keywords: Age at diagnosis; human immunodeficiency virus; systolic dysfunction highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Shows scatter plot depicting a negative correlation between age at diagnosis of HIV disease with the left ventricular systolic function (ejection fraction). HIV = Human immunodeficiency virus
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. UNAIDS. Fact Sheet Global HIV Statistics. UNAIDS; 2019. [[Last accessed on 2019 Sep]]. pp. 1–6. Available from: https://www.unsaid.org .
    1. Ige O, Oguche S, Yilwgan CS, Bode-Thomas F. Left ventricular mass and diastolic dysfunction in children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Niger J Cardiol. 2014;11:8–12.
    1. Lipshultz SE, Miller TL, Wilkinson JD, Scott GB, Somarriba G, Cochran TR, et al. Cardiac effects in perinatally HIV-infected and HIV-exposed but uninfected children and adolescents: A view from the United States of America. J Int AIDS Soc. 2013;16:18597. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arodiwe I, Ikefuna A, Obidike E, Arodiwe E, Anisuba B, Ibeziako N, et al. Left ventricular systolic function in Nigerian children infected with HIV/AIDS: A cross-sectional study. Cardiovasc J Afr. 2016;27:25–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lipshultz SE, Orav EJ, Sanders SP, Colan SD. Immunoglobulins and left ventricular structure and function in pediatric HIV infection. Circulation. 1995;92:2220–5. - PubMed