Disease Progression and Survival in HIV-1 Infected Children

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

I am forwarding research paper entitled " Role of HCV Coinfection

Towards Disease Progression and Survival in HIV-1 Infected Children: A

Follow-Up Study of 10 Years. "

Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 2006; 52(3): 206-211.

The present study was taken up to evaluate the pattern of disease

progression and survival in HIV-1 positive multi-transfused thalassemic

children, coinfected with HCV infection at the early asymptomatic stage of HIV-1

infection in absence of concomitant seropositivity for HBV infection.

The present study was taken up to evaluate the pattern of disease

progression and survival in a group of HIV-1 positive children,

coinfected with HCV infection (n = 25) in comparison to those without

such coinfection (n = 23).

There was a significant negative correlation between the rate of decline of the

CD41T cell percentage and the duration of the AIDS-free interval in most (80.0

per cent) of the HCV seropositive children showing such decline (r = -0.588; p =

0.005).

The HCV seropositive children had twofold higher risk of progression to

development of AIDS than HCV seronegatives (RR = 2.51; 95per cent

CI:1.34–4.69; p = 0.004).

There was a significant negative correlation between the rate of decline of

CD41T cell percentage and overall survival duration for HCV seropositive group

(r= - 0.609; p = 0.003).

Moreover, children coinfected with HCV had more than twofold

higher risks of death than those without HCV (RR = 2.39; 95per cent

CI:1.17–4.89; p< 0.01).

It appears that HCV infection may be an important contributor to the rapid

disease progression and increase in mortality in HCV-HIV- 1 coinfected children

of thalassemia major.

The full text of the article is accessable on the following url

http://tropej.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/rapidpdf/fmi103v1.pdf

Thanking you

With personal regards

Dr. Onkar Shivraj Swami

Department of Statistics

University of Delhi, Delhi-110007.

AND

Survey Division, Department Of Statistical Analysis And Computer

Services. Reserve Bank Of India

Bandra (E), MumbaI – 400051.

e-mail: <swami_du@...>