Hematological profile of newborns exposed to maternal human immunodeficiency virus and antiretroviral therapy

BACKGROUND: Thousands of pregnant women are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and some of them take antiretroviral therapy (ART) either for their own health or as a means of preventing mother-to-child transmission. This entails fetal exposure to drugs with attendant effect on hematological parameters. AIMS: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of maternal HIV and ART on hematological profile of newborns. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Comparative cross-sectional study involving 70 each of HIV- and ART-exposed and HIV- and ART-unexposed newborns at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Cord blood was collected for hemogram, reticulocyte count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean hematocrit, platelet, and reticulocyte counts of the HIV-exposed newborns were significantly lower than those of HIV-unexposed (P < 0.05). Among HIV-exposed newborns, newborns of mothers with CD4+ T-cell <350/μl had significantly lower hematological parameters than those of mothers with CD4+ T-cell ≥350/μl (P < 0.05). Furthermore, HIV-exposed newborns of mothers on second-line ART had significantly lower hematological parameters than HIV-exposed newborns of mothers on the first-line ART (P < 0.05). There was positive correlation between maternal CD4+ T-cell count and newborns' hematocrit (r = 0.71), platelet count (r = 0.54), and reticulocyte count (r = 0.63). CONCLUSIONS: Newborns exposed to maternal HIV and ART had lower hematological parameters than HIV-unexposed newborns and maternal CD4+ T-cell count