Prothrombotic state in HIV: A study on protein C, protein S, homocysteine and correlation with CD4 counts

Swati Khare, Rashmi Kushwaha, Ashutosh Kumar, Vimala Venkatesh, Himanshu D Reddy, Mili Jain, Mohd Yusuf, Uma Shankar SinghIndian Journal of Medical Microbiology 2018 36(2):201-206Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may result in variable haematological manifestations. Thrombotic events are more common among HIV-infected persons than the general population, possibly due to the increased inflammatory/hypercoagulable state and presence of concurrent comorbidities. Aims and Objectives: (1) Screen for coagulation abnormalities in HIV-infected patients. (2) Detect certain prothrombotic factors such as deficiency of protein C and protein S and elevation of homocysteine as possible precursors of coagulation defects in HIV patients. (3) Correlation of coagulation abnormalities with CD4 counts. Methods: A pilot study of 1-year duration conducted in the Department of Pathology in collaboration with ART centre, KGMU Lucknow. All diagnosed HIV-seropositive patients (n = 30) who were not taking Vitamin K, antithrombotic and antiplatelet drugs including aspirin, oral contraceptives and not having known protein C/S deficiency were included in the present study as cases. Apart from this, 30 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were also included in the present study. Assessment of the bleeding time, prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time, complete blood count was done. Protein C and S were measured by calorimetric assay. Serum homocysteine was m...
Source: Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: research