Effect of anemia on hepatotoxicity of HAART in HIV patients in Benin city

BACKGROUND: Hepatotoxicity is a relevant adverse effect of highly active antiretroviral Treatment owing to its frequency, and it can cause interruption of therapy, hepatitis, and death. There is dearth of information on hepatotoxicity arising from highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in anemic patients. Anemia is the most common symptom in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We studied the effect of anemia on hepatotoxicity in HIV patients who were about to start HAART, attending clinic, or in the medical wards. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study in which patients were recruited consecutively and followed up for 24 weeks. RESULTS: In all, 84 patients were recruited and 42 were enrolled as controls. The mean ages of the cases and controls were 35.2±9.9 and 35.5±9.0 years, respectively. The age range of the cases was 18-68 years with a median age of 31.5 years, whereas the mean age of the controls was 20-57 years with a median age of 33.5 years. There was no difference (t=0.197, df=124, and P=0.844). There were 61 females (72.6%) and 23 males (27.4%) in the cases, whereas in the controls, there were 34 females (81.0%) and 8 males (19.0%). Among the cases, 30 (35.7%) were anemic, while 54 (64.3%) were not anemic. Six (20%) of the anemic patients had hepatotoxicity, and 9 (16.7%) of the patients with normal packed cell volume had hepatotoxicity. Among the controls, all 42 (100%) patients had normal packed cell volume. Four (9.5%) of the patients had hepatotoxicity. There was no association between hepatotoxicity and anemia (χ(2) =3.243, df=2, P=0.198). CONCLUSION: Anemia did not affect hepatotoxicity of HAART in this study.