A study sought to identify the risk factors and prognosis after a stroke in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-naïve people living with human deficiency virus (PLWH) in China. The study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, found that stroke occurred across differing CD4 level and age groupings. Furthermore, hypertension, diabetes, syphilis, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining central nervous system (CNS) diseases predicted stroke, while age >65 years, severe pneumonia, and ADIS-defining CNS diseases were predictors of death in this population.

The study included a total of 2,867 HAART-naïve PLWH admitted at the authors’ center. Descriptive analysis, logistic regression, and Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the characteristics and predictors of stroke, as well as the risk factors for mortality among patients.

Among the full cohort, stroke was diagnosed in 105 individuals (3.7%). The results showed that age 30 to 50 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.903; 95% [CI], 1.005–3.603; p = 0.048), ages ≥55 years (OR = 4.104; 95% CI, 1.928–8.737; p < 0.001), and CD4 counts <200 cells/ µL (OR = 2.005; 95% CI, 1.008–3.985; p = 0.047)) were associated with increased chance of stroke, while diabetes (OR = 3.268; 95% CI 1.744–6.125; p < 0.001), hypertension (OR = 2.301; 95% CI, 1.425–3.717; p = 0.001), syphilis (OR = 2.003; 95% CI, 1.300–3.089; p = 0.002), and complicated AIDS-defining CNS diseases (OR = 7.719; 95% CI, 4.348–13.703; p <0.001) were identified as risk factors for stroke.

According to the study’s authors, their findings demonstrate that “early screening for stroke, timely intervention for risk factors among patients in various age groups and controlling the CD4 count are extremely important in reducing the burden of stroke.”

Source: BMC Infectious Diseases

https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-021-06989-6