1. Decreased Prevalence of Rheumatic Heart Disease Confirmed Among HIV-positive Youth.
- Author
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Hovis IW, Namuyonga J, Kisitu GP, Ndagire E, Okello E, Longenecker CT, Sanyahumbi A, Sable CA, Penny DJ, Lwabi P, Kekitiinwa AR, and Beaton A
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Prevalence, Prospective Studies, Risk Assessment, Uganda epidemiology, HIV Infections complications, Rheumatic Heart Disease epidemiology
- Abstract
Background: There is geographical overlap between areas endemic for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and those endemic for HIV. A recent pilot study demonstrated that children living with HIV might be at less risk for RHD development; however, the sample size was too small to make definitive conclusions. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of RHD among HIV-positive children in Uganda., Methods: We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study of HIV-positive children (5-15 years of age) receiving care at the Baylor Uganda HIV Clinic, Kampala, Uganda. A focused echocardiogram and chart review was performed. A sample size of 988 children was needed to provide 80% power to detect a difference in population prevalence between HIV-positive children and the general population, 2.97% [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.70-3.24%], based on previous reports., Results: Screening echocardiography of 993 HIV-positive children found 15 individuals (1.5%; 95% CI: 0.88%-2.54%) with RHD. Of these 15, 2 were classified as definite RHD and 13 as borderline RHD. The majority of children had isolated mitral valve disease (93%). Children found to have RHD were older than those without RHD, 12 versus 10 years of age (P = 0.004). When separated based on geographic location, the prevalence of RHD among HIV-positive children from Kampala was 1.28% (95% CI: 0.63%-2.51%) compared with 2.1% (95% CI: 0.89%-4.89%) in those from outside Kampala., Conclusions: Children living with HIV have a lower prevalence of RHD than the general pediatric population. Further studies are needed to explore this protective association.
- Published
- 2019
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