title: Is there a need for liver disease monitoring in HIV patients in Africa?
abstract: Liver disease is one of the leading causes of death in HIV-infected individuals from Europe and North America and has been attributed mainly to coinfection with hepatotropic viruses. Little data, however, has so far become available on liver disease in HIV-infected individuals from Africa. Results from a first study on liver disease staging by Fibroscan(®) in a large group of HIV-infected patients from rural Uganda suggest unexpectedly high rates of advanced fibrosis. These results were independent from hepatitis status, initiating a discussion on the need for future liver disease monitoring in these particular patient groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine I, University of Bonn, Germany. Juergen.Rockstroh@ukb.uni-bonn.de
authors.forename: Jürgen K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Rockstroh
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Heiner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wedemeyer
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis