title: Maternal complications after caesarean section in HIV infected women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the intervention related risk in HIV-infected women, undergoing caesarean section (CS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary care center for high risk obstetrics and infectious diseases in pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three HIV-positive women and one hundred and sixty-eight controls, cross matched for age, weight, parity, obstetrical characteristics at delivery and indication for CS, were prospectively recruited for the study. Infection related characteristics, as mode of acquisition, drug abuse, immune status and stage of disease were also recorded. Complications of the intervention were evaluated according to infectious status and risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Post-operative complications were significantly more frequent among HIV-infected mothers. More advanced disease and maternal age were the risk factors statistically related to complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to our data, CS carries a higher chance of post-operative complications in HIV-infected women, these complications being also related with the severity of infection (stage and duration of the disease). Given the characteristics of the population in the study (mode of acquisition, prevalence of early stage of the disease), the rate of complication is still relatively low compared to non-western, malnourished, drug-abusers groups.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di II Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica-Univ. di Bari, Policlinico-11, Piazza Giulio Cesare, 70124-, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vimercati
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Loverro
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Lopalco
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pansini
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Selvaggi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002585:Cesarean Section; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008423:Maternal Age; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors