Anemia is the most commonly encountered hematologic abnormality in from 63% to 95% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients. This study intends to evaluate hematological alterations and changes in the body mass index of HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy with or without protease inhibitors and those who are not on antiretroviral therapy. The HIV-positive patients were diagnosed by the ELISA test and confirmed by immunofluorescence. The hematological alterations were determined using a Coulter Maxim Autoloader®, CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts by FACSCount® Flux cytometry and viral load by Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification (NASBA®). The evaluation of hematological alterations showed smaller numbers of leukocytes and hemoglobin in the study group who used antiretroviral therapy compared to the control group (not on antiretroviral therapy); similar results were found for the body mass index of HIV-positive patients (p<0.0001, p=0.006 and p<0.0001), respectively. There were no significant differences identified between the groups on antiretroviral therapy with or without protease inhibitors. An evaluation of the hematological alterations associated with CD4+ cell counts and measurement of the viral load may contribute to monitor HIV infection and assist in the decision of the most appropriate clinical intervention in these patients. Rev. Bras. Hematol. Hemoter.
Anemia; combined modality theraphy; reverse transcriptase inhibitor
