INTRODUCTION: The impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on hepatic fibrosis progression in HIV and hepatitis C virus coinfected patients is not completely understood. Noninvasive hepatic fibrosis markers show great promise in determining liver fibrosis staging and monitoring disease progression. METHODS: Twenty-four patients divided equally into two groups: 12 HIV-monoinfected and 12 with HIV/HCV coinfected patients, were followed from July 2008 to August 2009, after initiating HAART, with clinical, epidemiological and laboratorial assessments every 3 months and calculation of the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI). This study aimed to compare the progression of APRI, a noninvasive hepatic fibrosis marker, among populations with HIV and HIV/HCV coinfection. RESULTS: No differences were observed between the groups regarding age, sex, measurement of CD4 and HIV viral load in all consultations, type of HAART and APRI before initiating HAART. Coinfected patients showed a significantly higher APRI than the monoinfected group in month 3 (0.57 ± 0.31 x 0.27 ± 0.105, p = 0.02) and 6 (0.93 ± 0.79 x 0.28 ± 0.11, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, HAART was associated with APRI increases over six months follow-up in HIV/HCV coinfected patients, suggesting that these may be experiencing cumulative hepatotoxicity and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome after initiating antiretroviral drugs.
HIV; Hepatitis C; AIDS; Coinfection; APRI; Liver disease
