Hematological parameters of human immunodeficiency virus positive pregnant women on antiretroviral therapy in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, North Western Nigeria.

Abstract

CONTEXT:Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) scourge continues to affect young women within the reproductive age group and pregnancy is a recognized indication for the use antiretroviral (ARV) drugs among HIV-positive women.AIMS:The aim is to determine the combined effect of pregnancy, HIV and ARV drugs on the hematological parameters of the pregnant women.SETTINGS AND DESIGN:This was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted among 70 each of HIV-positive and negative pregnant women.SUBJECTS AND METHODS:Bio-demographic and clinical data were extracted from the client folder and 4 ml of blood sample was obtained from each participant. Full blood count was generated using Swelab automatic hematology analyzer while reticulocyte count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were conducted manually.STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED:Data analysis was performed using SPSS version software 16 while P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS:Pregnant women with HIV had statistically significant lower hematocrit and white blood cell (WBC) and higher ESR than pregnant women without HIV (P < 0.000). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of platelet and reticulocyte (P > 0.05). However, among HIV positive pregnant women, those with CD4 count <350/μL had statistically significant lower WBC and lymphocyte count than those with CD4 count ≥350/μL (P < 0.05), whereas, those on zidovudine (AZT)-containing treatment had statistically significant lower hematocrit and higher mean cell volume than those on non-AZT-containing treatment (P < 0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in any of the hematological parameters (P > 0.050) between women on first- and second-line ARV regimens.CONCLUSIONS:There is a significant difference in terms of hematological parameters between HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnant women in this environment.