Open AccessHepatitis B virus infection in adolescents and young adults with human immunodeficiency virus infection in an urban clinic in a resource‐limited setting
Author(s) -
Katusiime C,
Kambugu A
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of the international aids society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.724
H-Index - 62
ISSN - 1758-2652
DOI - 10.7448/ias.15.6.18433
Subject(s) - medicine , hbsag , young adult , hepatitis b virus , hepatitis b , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , cirrhosis , immunology , pediatrics , virus
Purpose of the study Patients with HBV/HIV co‐infection are at an increased risk of progression to hepatic cirrhosis and eventual liver‐related death. There is limited data on HBV/HIV co‐infection prevalence in adolescents and young adults in developing countries. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus co‐infection among HIV‐positive adolescents and young adults attending an urban clinic in Kampala, Uganda. Methods Prospective study in HIV‐infected adolescents and young adults aged from 15–24 years. Summary of results From the adolescent/young adult HIV clinic, we purposively selected a sample of 148 adolescents and young adults who had been diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections between April 2011 and March 2012. A total of 148 HIV‐positive adolescents and young adults, 10 males and 138 females, aged between 15 and 24 years, were examined. Nine participants (6.1%) were HBsAg‐positive and were diagnosed with hepatitis B. Hepatitis B was predominant amongst the female participants compared to the male participants: 6.1% vs 0%. The median age of the participants diagnosed with hepatitis B was 22 years (IQR: 18.5–24.0). Of the 9 HBV/HIV co‐infected participants, 7 (77.8%) had CD4+counts of>250 cells/µl while 2 (22.2%) had CD4+counts<250 cells/µl (p<0.001). The median CD4+counts for the HBV/HIV co‐infected participants whose CD4+counts>250 cells/µl was 434 cells/µl (IQR: 289–577). On the other hand, the participants whose CD4+counts<250 cells/µl had a median CD4+count of 120 cells/µl. There was very strong evidence to show that the 8 (88.9%) HBV/HIV co‐infected participants who were in WHO stage I and II were more as compared to 1 (11.1%) HBV/HIV co‐infected patients who was in WHO stage III and IV (p<0.001). Conclusion Only 6.1% of the HIV‐positive adolescents/young adults had hepatitis B co‐infection. HIV/HBV co‐infection was predominant among female adolescents/young adults and there was very strong evidence to show that HIV/HBV co‐infection was largely associated with WHO stage I and II disease.