Incidence of hepatotoxicity of highly active Antiretroviral Therapy in a Tertiary Health Centre in Nigeria.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of hepatotoxicity of HAART in HIV infected patients in a tertiary health centre in Nigeria. This study was carried out on HIV patients on HAART attending infectious disease clinic, gastroenterology clinic or admitted into the medical wards of University of Benin Teaching Hospital. HAART-naive HIV patients were used as controls. A clinical evaluation and relevant laboratory investigations were done. Hepatotoxicity was defined using a standardised toxicity grade scale. A total of 84 cases and 42 controls were studied. The mean ages were 35.2± 9.9years and 35.5±9.0 years for the cases and the controls respectively. Over 70% of the study population and controls were females. The overall incidence of hepatotoxicity was 17.9% and severe hepatotoxicity occurred in 10.7% of the patients. Alcohol use and being underweight were independent risk factors for hepatotoxicity. This prospective study clearly shows that there was appreciable hepatotoxicity associated with HAART in the study patients as found in other parts of the world. There is a need for regular monitoring of liver function in these patients because of the risk of hepatotoxicity.