Hepatitis B Infection in People Living with HIV/AIDS; A Retrospective Study of the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital

ABSTRACT

Introduction:Comorbidities among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) increases with disease severity. This may be attributed to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) toxicity and HIV/AIDS-related infections. Aim:Weinvestigated the presence of comorbidities among PLWHA and reported their clinical and biochemical characteristicsMethods:This study was conducted at the EffiaNkwantaRegional Hospital (ENRH) in the South-Western part of Ghana. A retrospective data of 500 participants (134 males and 366 females) wascollected from HIV/AIDS patients on HAART (January 2012 to January 2016). Sociodemographic characteristics and laboratorydata of patients were retrieved frompatients’ clinical files and laboratory database respectively. Data wasanalyzed with SPSS for both descriptive and inferential analysis. Results: A total of 96 (19.2%) comorbiditieswere recorded (N=500). The most prevalent comorbidity was hepatitis B virus infection (34.4%). Among the 96 HIV/AIDS patients who had comorbidities, 27 (28.1%) were males and69 (71.9%) were females. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) of the HIV/AIDS patients with comorbidities was similar to that of those without comorbidities (113.84 ± 16.73 vs 115.32 ± 15.68). Majority of the participants with comorbidities 59 (61.5%) and those without comorbidities 227 (56.2%) were found to be on the same therapy combination (TDF+3TC+EFV). The decreased CD4 cell count, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), serum potassium and creatinine were similar in the participants(those with comorbidities and those without comorbidities). None of the demographic, clinical and biochemical parameters were associated with the presence of comorbidities.Conclusion:The total prevalence of commodities was 19.2% and themostprevalent commodity was HBV(34.4%). The comorbidities were common among females, themarried and old people living with HIV/AIDS. Early and regular screening will be a key prevention and control strategy for the HIV/AIDS-associated commodities