Fibrinolytic changes in pregnant women on highly active antiretroviral therapy

OBJECTIVES To report on the changes in fibrinolytic activity in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected pregnant women who are undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS Blood was collected from 50 HIV positive women on HAART (test subjects), and 50 HIV positive women not on HAART (controls). These women were attending the prevention of mother to child clinic (PMTCT) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria from January to June 2014. Standard manual techniques were used to estimate plasma fibrinogen concentration (PFC), euglobulin lysis time (ELT), packed cell volume (PCV), and plasma viscosity (PV). RESULTS The mean ± standard error of mean (SEM) of PFC was 4.02±0.13 g/l and ELT from the test subjects was 378±15 mins was significantly higher (p<0.05) compared with the control subjects (PFC 3.46±0.12 g/l and ELT 267±9.0 mins). The PCV or hematocrit values in the test subject was 29.1±0.38%, which was significantly lower (p<0.05) compared with the control subject (31.3±0.43%). The PV in the test subject was 1.76±0.02 mPa/s, while the control subjects was higher (1.73±0.02 mPa/s). This increase was not statistically significant (p>0.05). There were differences in the various parameters investigated when the various trimesters were compared. These differences did not, however, follow a particular pattern. CONCLUSION Highly active antiretroviral therapy can cause changes in fibrinolytic activity that may predispose pregnant women to hyperfibrinogenemia and anemia.