dc.description.abstract |
Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) coinfection with HIV/AIDS most often results in
unfavorable responses to treatment, frequent relapses, and premature deaths. Scarce data are
available, regarding the magnitude and poor treatment outcomes of VL-HIV coinfection.
Objective: The main objective of this systematic review was to describe the pooled prevalence
of VL and poor treatment outcome among HIV patients.
Review methods: Electronic databases mainly PubMed were searched. Databases, such as
Google and Google scholar, were searched for gray literature. Articles were selected based on their
inclusion criterion, whether they included HIV-positive individuals with VL diagnosis. STATA 11
software was used to conduct a meta-analysis of pooled prevalence of VL-HIV coinfection.
Results: Fifteen of the 150 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A majority of the study participants
were
males
between
25
years
and
41
years
of
age.
The
pooled
prevalence
of
VL-HIV
coinfection
is
5.2%
with
95%
confidence
interval
of
(2.45–10.99).
Two
studies
demonstrated
the
impact
of
antiretroviral
treatment
on
reduction
in
relapse
rate
compared
with
patients
who
did
not
start
antiretroviral
treatment.
One
study
showed
that
the
higher
the
baseline
CD4+
cell
count
(.100
cells/mL)
the
lower
the
relapse
rate.
Former
VL
episodes
were
identified
as
risk
factors
for
relapse
in
two
articles.
In
one
of
the
articles,
an
earlier
bout
of
VL
remains
significant
in
the model adjusted to other variables.
Conclusion:
The
pooled
prevalence
of
VL
in
HIV-infected
patients
is
low
and
an
earlier
bout
of
VL
and
CD4+
count ,100 cells/mL at the time of primary VL diagnosis are factors that
predict poor treatment outcome.
Keywords: visceral leishmaniasis, HIV coinfection, magnitude |
en_US |