Dyslipidemias and Elevated Cardiovascular Risk on Lopinavir-Based Antiretroviral Therapy in Cambodia

BACKGROUND

Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) is widely used in Cambodia with high efficacy but scarce data exist on long-term metabolic toxicity.

METHODS

We carried out a cross-sectional and retrospective study evaluating metabolic disorders and cardiovascular risk in Cambodian patients on LPV/r-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) for > 1 year followed in Calmette Hospital, Phnom Penh. Data collected included cardiovascular risk factors, fasting blood lipids and glucose, and retrospective collection of bioclinical data. We estimated the 10-year risks of coronary heart disease with the Framingham, Ramathibodi-Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Rama-EGAT), and the Data Collection on Adverse Effects of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) risk equations. We identified patients with LDL above targets defined by the French expert group on HIV and by the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IDSA-AACTG).

RESULTS

Of 115 patients enrolled-mean age 40.9 years, 69.2% male, mean time on LPV/r 3.8 years-40 (34.8%) had hypercholesterolemia (> 2.40 g/L), and 69 (60.0%) had low HDL cholesterol (< 0.40 g/L). Twelve (10.5%), 28 (24%) and 9 (7.7%) patients had a 10-year risk of coronary heart disease ≥ 10% according to the Framingham, D:A:D, and Rama-EGAT score, respectively. Fifty one (44.4%) and 36 (31.3%) patients had not reached their LDL target according to IDSA-AACTG and French recommendations, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of dyslipidemia was high in this cohort of HIV-infected Cambodian patients on LPV/r. Roughly one third had high LDL levels requiring specific intervention.

[Clinical aspects of AIDS at the Calmette hospital in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia A report on 356 patients hospitalized in the Medicine "B" Department of the Calmette Hospital]

A study on AIDS subjects carried out at the Calmette Hospital in Phnom-Penh between the 1st January 97 and the 30th December 98. The objective of this study was to describe the most frequent clinical manifestations as well as the opportunistic infections according to the 1993 CDC classification (purely clinical classification). Three hundred and fifty six AIDS patients hospitalized in medicine B were included in our study. A complete file was prepared for each subject, specifying his/her social and family situation, profession, sexual behavior and history. The clinical condition was specified and the paraclinical examinations were recorded. The average age was 35 years with 250 men and 106 women, i.e. a M/F sex ratio of 2.4. The majority of male contaminations were due to sexual relationships with multiple partners, 82%, and women with a single partner was of 78%. The use of condoms was of 60% (versus 40% occasional); the extent of drug-addiction was 1.12% (4 cases). A history of STD was found in 56% of cases. The presenting symptoms most frequently found were asthenia, anorexia, fever and weight-loss. In decreasing order, the clinical manifestations often associated were: weight-loss > 10% or a catechetic condition 58.70% (209/356), fever > 38 degrees C >1 month 53% (189/356), diarrhea (> one month) 41.60% (148/356). The most frequent opportunistic infections were: oral candidiasis 51.40% (183/356) and 40% are oro-oesophageal (oral candidiasis + dysphagia or odynphagia), pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculoses (TB) 43.50% (155/356) (pulmonary TB in 65.16%, TB of the lymph nodes 23.22% and disseminated TB and cerebral TB 11.61%), cryptococcal meningitis 11.80% (42/356) and pneumocystosis 6.50% (23/356), CMV retinitis 1.12% (4/356). The other opportunistic manifestations such as toxoplasmosis and Kaposis sarcoma are much more rarely encountered due to the difficulties of the paraclinical diagnosis. The mortality in the department was of 17.40% (62/356). In conclusions, tuberculosis is the most frequent of the opportunistic infections in Cambodia. Cryptococcal meningitis is in 3rd place for opportunistic infections. It is the first diagnosis that should be evoked in a meningeal irritation.