© 2017 Tsegay et al. This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms. php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php). HIV/AIDS - Research and Palliative Care 2017:9 31–42 HIV/AIDS - Research and Palliative Care Dovepress submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com Dovepress 31 ORIGINAL RESEARCH open access to scientific and medical research Open Access Full Text Article http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/HIV.S125958 Magnitude of cytopenias among HIV-infected children in Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia: a comparison of HAART-naïve and HAART-experienced children Yakob Gebregziabher Tsegay 1, * Agerie Tadele 2 Zelalem Addis 3 Agersew Alemu 4 Mulugeta Melku 2, * 1 Bahir Dar Regional Health Research Laboratory Center, Bahir Dar, 2 Department of Hematology and Immunohematology, 3 Department of Medical Microbiology, 4 Department of Medical Parasitology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: AIDS, caused by HIV, is a multisystem disease that affects hematopoiesis. The aim of this study was to assess cytopenias among HIV-infected children who had a follow-up at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted between April and May 2013. Systematic random sampling method was used to select the study participants. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test as well as chi-square and logistic regression were used for analysis. A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 224 children (112 highly active antiretroviral therapy [HAART]-naïve and 112 HAART-experienced) participated in the study. The magnitude of anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, leukopenia and pancytopenia among HAART-naïve HIV-infected children were 30.4%, 9.8%, 8%, 4.5% and 1.8%, respectively. The overall prevalence of anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and pancytopenia were 29.5%, 8.9%, 8%, 4.5% and 1.4%, respec- tively. Cluster of differentiation-4 percentage and mean corpuscular volume were significantly different between HAART-experienced and HAART-naïve children. Being of younger age and severely immunosuppressed were risk factors of anemia. Conclusion: Anemia was the most common cytopenia, followed by neutropenia. Severe immu- nosuppression and younger age were significantly associated with anemia. Therefore, emphasis should be given for investigation and management of cytopenias in HIV-infected children, particularly for those who are immunosuppressed and of younger age. Keywords: anemia, children, cytopenia, HAART, HIV, leukopenia, neutropenia, pancytopenia, thrombocytopenia Background AIDS is caused by HIV and is characterized by progressive damage to the body’s immune system, which results in a number of OIs, immunological and hematological complications. 1,2 Immunological complication due to CD4+ T-lymphocyte depletion is a hallmark of HIV infection. 3 Hematological manifestations are among the most common clinicopathological manifestations of HIV infection, and they have been documented as the second most common cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV patients. 4–6 These complications are generally marked with cytopenias and dysplasias of all major blood cell lines, leading to anemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and neoplasms. 7–9 Correspondence: Mulugeta Melku Department of Hematology and Immunohematology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, PO Box 196, Gondar 6200, Ethiopia Tel +251 91 008 4521 Email mulugeta.melku@gmail.com HIV/AIDS - Research and Palliative Care downloaded from https://www.dovepress.com/ by 54.163.42.124 on 01-Jun-2020 For personal use only. 1 / 1