RESUMEN
Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is widely used in the treatment of Human ImmunodeficiencyVirus (HIV) infection but toxicity is widely reported amongst patients. Hepatotoxicity is commonly reported among HIV patients on treatment with HAART, but there is lack of consensus between authors on whether liver disease seen in these patients is as a result of HAART or HIV infection itself. This study examined the possible effect of HAART on activity of liver enzymes, bilirubin level and Cluster Differentiation of Antigen (CD4+) in HIV patients on drug treatment. Methods: Forty (40) HIV patients on HAART (Group 1), forty (40) treatment naïve HIV patients (Group 2) were recruited from the Institute of Human Virology of Nigeria (IHVN) Clinic, Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo while forty (40) HIV negative subjects (group 3) served as control. Activities of Alanine aminotransferases (ALT), aspartate aminotransferases (AST) and bilirubin level were determined spectrophotometrically while CD4+ count was by flow cytometry. Results: Results from this study showed that mean activities of the enzymes ALT and AST were significantly different among the groups studied (p < 0.0001). Mean total bilirubin concentration highest in group 1, followed by group 2 and then group 3. When means of conjugated bilirubin fraction were compared in all the groups, significant difference in means was observed (p<0.0001). The mean CD4+ count was highest in group3, followed by group 1 and least in the HIV treatment naïve group (p<0.0001). Conclusion: The increases in ALT, AST, CB and TB seen in HIV patients on HAART treatments may be due to HIV infection and HAART treatments, which could be attributed to liver damage observed in these patients