Title: Coagulation in human immunodeficiency virus infection: A Target for improvement of the patients
Abstract:
According to UNAIDS, there were approximately 37.9 million people across the globe with HIV/AIDS in 2018. Of these, 36.2 million were adults and 1.7 million were children (< 15 years old). New HIV infection – An estimated 1.7 million individuals worldwide were newly infected with HIV in 2018. Blood coagulation abnormalities occur frequently in people infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Research so far shows that retrovirus is associated with endothelial dysfunction and liver damage. Both endothelial dysfunction and liver damage can result in coagulation defects because most coagulation factors are produced in the liver and some are activated by the tissues therefore defaulting to them can lead to coagulation defects. It is therefore expected that as HIV progresses coagulation abnormalities increases. However, few studies showed the association of these abnormalities with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time with kaolin (PTTK) use to assess the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways respectively alongside platelet count help to screen for coagulation abnormalities in HIV-infected persons.
