Thrombocytopenia and Associated Factors Among HIV Infected Patients in Pre- and Post-Anti-Retroviral Therapy, North East Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Thrombocytopenia is a common disorder of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection. The magnitude of thrombocytopenia and associated factors among HIV-infected patients receiving ART (anti-retroviral treatment) are not studied well in this study area. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of thrombocytopenia and associated factors in pre- and post-ART patients who attended Debre Berhan Referral Hospital (DBRH) in North-East Ethiopia. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2020 in DBRH, North-East Ethiopia. From the total ART patients, 272 study participants were selected randomly. Socio-demographic variables and clinical characteristics of the patients were collected by standard questionnaires. Measurement of platelet count and CD4 count were made by Sysmex XT2000i hematology machine and BD FACS count analyzer, respectively. Data were analyzed with SPSS software version 23 and multivariate logistic regression was done. P-value less than 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. RESULTS: The prevalence of thrombocytopenia was 22.7% with 95% CI: 17.8–27.5 in pre-ART and 14.7% with 95% CI: 11.0–19.9 in post-ART HIV-infected patients with a significant difference at P <0.0001. HIV patients with CD4 counts <200 cells/µL were more likely to have thrombocytopenia (35.0%) than patients with CD4 counts ≥200 with a P <0.04 in pre-ART patients. Patients on zidovudine (AZT)-based therapy were more likely to have thrombocytopenia (16.3%) than patients on tenofovir (TDF)-based therapy (14.8%) with P<0.79; however, this did not show any significant association. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of thrombocytopenia decreased significantly after the beginning of ART. HIV patients with low CD4 count and on AZT-based treatment showed high risk of thrombocytopenia. According to this study, thrombocytopenic patients were observed even after the initiation of ART. As a result, to decrease thrombocytopenic associated mortality and morbidity, there should be continuous screening for HIV-infected patients.