Haemostatic trends in HIV-infected individuals in Yaoundé, Cameroon: a pilot study.
Bleeding disorders are haematological manifestations that are frequently observed during HIV infection. This study intends to describe the haemostatic trends in HIV-infected patients in Cameroon. This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out at the haematology unit of the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital from March to June 2012. It included consenting HIV-positive patients, aged 18 years and above, naive to antiretroviral treatment or not. The coagulation profile was measured with Stago reagents (Stago Diagnostics, Asnières sur Seine, France) using a chronometric technique on a semi-automate (Stago Diagnostics). Platelets count was estimated on a human count automate (Human Diagnostics, Wiesbaden, Germany) by flow cytometry. A total of 139 HIV-infected patients were included in this study, out of which 106 were females (76.3%) against 33 (23.7%) males, giving a sex ratio of 0.3 (M/F). Mean age was 38.85 years (range 22-73 years) and median CD4 count was 353 cells/μl (Interquartile range 200-500 cells/μl). Hyperfibrinogenaemia was the most frequent bleeding disorder in the studied population [40 of 139 (28.78%)], followed by low prothrombin time (PT) [22 of 139 (15.83%)], thrombocytopenia [19 of 139 (13.67%)], hypofibrinogenaemia [18 of 139 (12.95)], prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (7.91) and by thrombocytosis which was less frequent [6 of 139 (4.32%)]. Out of the six haemostatic disorders, only low PT was significantly associated with CD4 count (P = 0.02). This study showed that bleeding disorders are very frequent in the HIV-infected patients studied. Low PT was significantly associated with CD4 count, hence it may be recommended to systematic screen for bleeding disorders in severe immune-depressed (CD4 ≤ 200 cells/μl) HIV-infected patients.
aInstitut Supérieur des Sciences de la Santé, Université des Montagnes, Bangangté bFaculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé cUniversity Teaching Hospital Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon dFaculté de Médecine, Université de Bangui, Bangui, Central African Republic.
Larissa
L
Tene
Claude T
CT
Tagny
Annick
A
Mintya-Ndoumba
Victor N
VN
Fossi
Dora
D
Mbanya
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002163:Cameroon; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D020141:Hemostatic Disorders; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D055815:Young Adult