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VOLUME 10 , ISSUE 1--4 ( January-December, 2024 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Prevalence of Thrombocytopenia in Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy-naïve Human Immunodeficiency Virus-infected Patients in Silchar Medical College and Hospital

Bijita Dutta, Saumendra K Bhattacharjee

Keywords : HAART, HIV, Prevalence, Thrombocytopenia

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10045-00277

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 30-07-2024

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).


Abstract

Background: This study was conducted in the Department of Pathology, Silchar Medical College and Hospital, Silchar, Assam, India, from July 2017 to June 2018 to determine the prevalence of thrombocytopenia in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-naïve human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients and correlate thrombocytopenia with cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) count. Materials and methods: The study group comprised 99 HIV-infected adults presenting at the ART center/outpatient department/inpatient department (OPD/IPD) of the Department of Medicine who had not initiated HAART. Thrombocytopenia was defined as a platelet count <150,000/mm3 of blood. A brief workup included history, general and systemic examination, complete hematological workup, and bone marrow study in select cases. Patients under 16 years of age and those receiving HAART were excluded. Results: Thrombocytopenia was identified in 13 out of 99 patients in this study group, yielding a prevalence of 13.1%. Among these 13 patients with thrombocytopenia, 12 cases (92.3%) had a CD4 count <200, while only one case (7.7%) had a CD4 count ≥200. The association between thrombocytopenia and CD4 count was assessed using the contingency coefficient, yielding a value of 0.232 with a p-value of 0.018, indicating a significant association. Bone marrow studies were conducted in 10 cases, indicated by severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count <50,000 cells/mm2). Among these, three cases with severe thrombocytopenia on bone marrow examination showed an increased number of megakaryocytes with a normal granulocytic and erythrocytic series. These findings correlate well with previous studies. Conclusion: The prevalence of thrombocytopenia is 13.1% in the study population, and the association between thrombocytopenia and CD4 was found to be statistically significant. The contingency coefficient was evaluated with a value of 0.232 and a p-value of 0.018. This type of study is being reported for the first time from this part of our country.


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