Prevalence and predictors of liver disease in HIV-infected children and adolescents

Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 26;7(1):12309. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-11489-2.

Abstract

Liver disease in HIV-infected patients may result from the infection itself, antiretroviral treatment or comorbidities. In this study, we analysed liver disease in 79 HIV-infected children and adolescents aged 14.0 ± 5.1 years. All the patients were receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), with a mean duration of 11.5 ± 4.7 years. Six patients (8%) had detectable HIV viral load, and 8/79 (10%) of the participants were coinfected with hepatitis B or C virus (HCV, 6/8 or HBV, 2/8). Liver disease was defined as an elevation of any of the following parameters: alanine or aspartate aminotransferase (ALT and AST), total bilirubin, and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGTP). For the noninvasive evaluation of liver fibrosis, the AST-to-Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) and Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) were calculated. Liver disease was diagnosed in 20/79 (25%) of the patients, including 13/71 (18%) of participants without coinfection and 7/8 (88%) with coinfection (p < 0.0001). All of the liver markers except bilirubin were significantly higher in the coinfected group. APRI scores indicated significant fibrosis in 5/8 (63%) of patients with coinfection. HBV or HCV coinfection and detectable HIV viral load were independently positively associated with APRI (p = 0.0001, and p = 0.0001) and FIB-4 (p = 0.001, and p = 0.002, respectively). In conclusion, liver disease in HIV-infected children and adolescents results mainly from HBV or HCV coinfection. Effective antiretroviral treatment is protective against hepatic abnormalities.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anti-Retroviral Agents / adverse effects*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Coinfection / blood
  • Coinfection / diagnosis
  • Coinfection / epidemiology*
  • Coinfection / virology
  • Comorbidity
  • Drug Therapy, Combination / adverse effects
  • Drug Therapy, Combination / methods
  • Female
  • HIV Infections / blood
  • HIV Infections / complications*
  • HIV Infections / drug therapy
  • HIV Infections / epidemiology
  • Hepatitis B / blood
  • Hepatitis B / diagnosis
  • Hepatitis B / epidemiology*
  • Hepatitis B / virology
  • Hepatitis C / blood
  • Hepatitis C / diagnosis
  • Hepatitis C / epidemiology*
  • Hepatitis C / virology
  • Humans
  • Liver Cirrhosis / blood
  • Liver Cirrhosis / diagnosis
  • Liver Cirrhosis / epidemiology
  • Liver Cirrhosis / virology
  • Liver Function Tests
  • Male
  • Platelet Count
  • Poland / epidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Viral Load

Substances

  • Anti-Retroviral Agents