Echocardiographic cardiac involvement in human inmonudeficiency virus infection

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Abstract

In this study we assessed echo cardiographic features in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV). We studied 21 patients, 18 men and 3 women, aged 17 to 51 years, 15 ambulatory and 6 hospitalized. Risk factors for HIV infection included homo or bisexuality, intravenous dmg abuse, blood transfusion and heterosexual contact. Patients data are in Table 1. Echocardiographic abnormalities were identified in 10 of 21 patients (48 %; CI 25 %.71 %). These included pericardial effusion (4 patients), left ventricular hypokinesis (1 patient), pericardial effusion and left ventricular hypokinesis (1 patient), pericardial effusion and vegetation (2 patients) and, pericardial effusion, left ventricular hypokinesis and vegetation (1 patient). Pericardial effusion was grade I in 2 patients, grade II in 3 patients and grade III in 3 patients. Endocardial vegetations were on tricuspide valve in 3 patients and on mitral in 1 patient. No significant difference in echocardiographic finding was evident be- tween patients with different age, risk factors or CDC group of HIV infection. Endocardial vegetations were always seen in patients with infections endocarditis, positive blood cultures and intravenous dmg abuse. Ecbocardiographic abnormalities appeared to be more frequent among CDC group IV (acquired immuno. deficiency syndrome. AIDS) compared with other CDC groups (57% vs 20%). Hypokinesis with or with. out effusion was found only in homosexual patients (p < 0.05). The prevalence of echocardiographic ab- normalities was greater for hospitalized patients when compared with ambulatory patients (60 % vs 16 %). Our results suggest that: there is a high prevalence of endocardial, myocardial and pericardial abnormalities diagnosed by echocardiographic in patients with HIV infection; endocardial vegetations related with infectious endocarditis are more frequent in drug abusers; myocardial abnormalities are more frequent in homo- sexual patients; echocardiographic abnormalities are more frequent in CDC group IV (AIDS) and in hospitalized patients.