Opportunistic Infections and Complications in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1-Infected Children

Objectives: the aim of this study was to ascertain the correlation between various opportunisticinfections and complications in human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)-1-infected children and the immune status of these patients, evaluated by absolute cluster of differentiation 4 (cd4) count and cd4 percentage. methods: this study was conducted from january 2009 to june 2010 at the antiretroviral treatment centre of the pt. b.d. sharma post graduate institute of medical sciences, a tertiary care hospital in rohtak, haryana, in northern india. a total of 20 hiv-1-infected children aged 4–57 months were studied. demographic and baseline investigations were performed prior to the start of highly active antiretroviral therapy (haart). a fixed-dose combination of haart was given based on the patient’s weight. baseline investigations were repeated after six months of haart. results: there was a significant increase in the patients’ haemoglobin, weight, height and cd4 count after six months of haart. significant improvements (p <0.05) were also noted in the patients’ immune status, graded according to the world health organization. conclusion: this study observed that the severity and frequency of opportunistic complications in paediatric patients with hiv-1 increased with a fall in the cd4 count. the treatment of opportunistic infections, along with antiretroviral therapy, may lead to both clinical and immunological recovery as well as a decreased incidence of future opportunistic infections. the cd4 count may give treating physicians an initial idea about the immune status of each child and could also be used as a biological marker of haart efficacy. patient compliance must be ensured during haart as this is a key factor in improving outcomes.