title: AIDS in childhood: cardiac involvement with and without triple combination antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the prevalence of cardiac abnormalities in the echocardiogram of children with AIDS followed up in a reference service at 18+/-6 months of AIDS confirmed diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-section study with a cohort after 18+/-6 months of AIDS diagnosis. The study included a total of 93 children with a confirmed diagnosis of AIDS with vertical transmission, with no malignancies and who underwent echocardiogram (echo) during cardiologic evaluation. Cardiac abnormalities were assessed in patients who were not treated (G1) and patients who were treated (G2) with combination antiretroviral therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When diagnosed with AIDS, the children were on average 3.07 years old and 50.50% were female. The combination regimen with antiretroviral agents was used by 47 patients (G2). Cardiac involvement was present in 40 children (43.00%). The presence of left ventricular dysfunction (G1: 39.10%; G2: 10.60%) and the isolated enlargement of left ventricle (G1: 6.60%; G2: 14.90%) were the most frequent findings. We observed a significant association between the groups without and with combination antiretroviral therapy asregards the presence of left ventricular dysfunction (PR= 3.42; [1.41-8.26]; p = 0.02) and malnutrition (PR = 1.79; [1.00-3.20]; p = 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cardiac involvement was frequent in children with AIDS and left ventricular dysfunction was the most common abnormality on echocardiogram. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups with and without triple combination treatment as regards the presence of left ventricular dysfunction and malnutrition.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Puericultura e Pediatria Martagão Gesteira, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brazil. mccunha@rionet.com.br
authors.forename: Maria do Carmo Soares Alves
authors.initials: Mdo C
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: Aristarco Gonçalves de
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Siqueira Filho
authors.forename: Silvia Reis dos
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Thalita Fernandes de
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.forename: Ricardo Hugo S de
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Denise Marcelino
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Baptista
authors.forename: Marylane Christian Feitosa
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dantas
authors.forename: Márcia Fernanda
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Luciane Gaspar
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Guedes
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000635:transmission; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D014463:Ultrasonography; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents