Anaemia in pregnancy is associated with advanced HIV disease.

Abstract

BackgroundAnaemia is a common clinical finding in HIV infected women and has been associated with advanced disease. The use of antiretroviral drugs such as Zidovudine (ZDV) either for prevention of mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV or used in combination with other antiretrovirals have been implicated in the development or increased severity of anaemia. We report the prevalence, type, severity and incidence of anaemia in a cohort of HIV infected women who initiated antiretroviral prophylaxis or treatment during pregnancy.Methods and materialsThis is a retrospective cohort data analysis of 408 HIV infected pregnant women who participated in a breastfeeding intervention study (HPTN 046 Study, ClinicalTrials.gov NCT 00074412) in South Africa. Women initiated zidovudine prophylaxis for PMTCT or triple antiretroviral treatment in pregnancy according to the standard of care. Laboratory and clinical data in pregnancy, ResultsThe mean Hb concentration was 10.6 g/dL at baseline and 262/408 (64.2%) women were diagnosed with anaemia (HbConclusionIn conclusion, anaemia was most common among women in the advanced stage of HIV infection (CD4<200 cells/mm3). There was no evidence of an association between ZDV or triple ARVs and anaemia.