Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in pregnant women is characterized by immune activation and inflammation despite suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). The extent to which ongoing inflammation contributes to activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis is unknown.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study included pregnant women in the following three groups: HIV negative (n = 109), HIV infected virologically suppressed (n = 109) and HIV infected with HIV viral load (VL) of >50 copies/mL (n = 80). Fibrinolytic activity was evaluated by measuring d-dimer and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) as well as thrombin-antithrombin (TAT) complex concentrations, as an index of coagulation, in the first, second and third trimesters.
Results: In this population, with a mean age of 33 ± 6 years, pregnancy outcomes were recorded for 277 (93.0 %) participants with live births. HIV infected participants with virological suppression and VL of >50 copies/mL showed significantly increasing levels of d-dimer and PAI-1 in the first, second and third trimesters, as compared to HIV negative participants. No significant differences were observed between HIV infected participants with virological suppression and HIV infected participants with VL > 50 copies/mL for levels of first and third trimester d-dimer and PAI-1 in each trimester. In addition, TAT complex levels in the first trimester were significantly increased in HIV infected virologically suppressed participants as compared to HIV negative participants.
Conclusion: HIV infected virologically suppressed pregnant women show evidence of persistently impaired markers of fibrinolysis. Future research should explore the risk of adverse pregnancy complications among HIV infected pregnant women in the modern era of ART.
Keywords: Antiretroviral therapy; Coagulation; Fibrinolysis; Human immunodeficiency virus; Pregnancy; South Africa.
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