Abstract:

Background and rationale: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a major public health problem; however, sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected by it. The advent of antiretroviral treatment has caused the infection to become chronic, leading to biological abnormalities.

The objective of this study was to determine the hematological profile and biological abnormalities of children undergoing antiretroviral treatment at the Yaoundé University Hospital Center (YUTH) in Cameroon.

Methodology: A prospective, cross-sectional, single-center study was conducted from November 2020 to October 2021 in 74 young people aged 3 to 19 years. After obtaining ethical clearance, sociodemographic and clinical data were collected; samples were also collected and analyzed by immunophenotyping and blood count (CBC) for the quantification of CD4⁺, CD8+ T cells and blood cells such as: Total leukocytes, Monocytes, Neutrophils, Platelets, Red blood cells. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel 2019, SPSS version 22 software. Any value of P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 74 children were included in the study. The median age was 9 years, 68.92% of the children were female. HIV-1 infection was predominant (94.59%). The mean CD4⁺ count was 536.75 cells/µl (SD = 216.25 cells/mm³), and the median CD4+ count was 600 cells/µl. Among these patients, 4.1% had a CD4 count⁺˂ 200 cells/mm³, 32.4% had a CD4⁺ count between 200 and 349 cells/µl, 2.7% had a CD4 count⁺ between 350-499 cells/µl and 60.8% had a CD4⁺ count ≥ 500 cells/µl. The average hemoglobin level was 11 g/dl (standard deviation = 2.3 g/dl) with extremes of 4 and 14 g/dl.

Conclusion: The prevalence of biological abnormalities in people born with HIV under antiretroviral treatment suggests systematic performance of blood counts and lymphocyte phenotyping.

Keywords: HIV; YUTH; CBC.