Gynecomastia in HIV-positive adult men receiving efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy at Newlands clinic, Harare, Zimbabwe

Gynecomastia is known to occur in some men taking an efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen. However, the incidence and outcomes of gynecomastia are not known in Zimbabwe. We described the characteristics and outcomes of gynecomastia among male patients on an efavirenz-based ART regimen. We conducted a retrospective cohort review of data of all male patients aged ≥18 years taking an efavirenz-based regimen at Newlands Clinic, Harare, Zimbabwe before 31 March 2017. The primary outcome was gynecomastia as defined by breast/nipple enlargement reported by patient and confirmed by clinical palpation. Routinely collected data on demographics, baseline CD4, body mass index, duration on efavirenz, clinical presentation and outcomes were extracted from the clinic database and analysed using STATA 12.1. We investigated for any associations with concomitant medicines using cox regression. We analysed data for 1432 men with a median age of 40 years (IQR: 33–48). Half of the patients were in WHO stage 1 at ART commencement. Median body mass index and CD4 count at efavirenz commencement was 21 (IQR: 19–23) and 260 cells/mm3 (IQR: 126–412) respectively. The incidence of gynecomastia was 22/1000 person-years (IQR: 17.3–27.8). Over half of the cases (58%) were bilateral and 75% of all cases developed within two years of starting efavirenz. There were no significant associations with concomitant use of isoniazid (HR: 0.95, p = 0.87) or amlodipine (HR: 0.43, p = 0.24). Gynecomastia resolved in 83.5% of cases following withdrawal of efavirenz with a median time to resolution of 3 months (IQR: 2–9). The incidence of gynecomastia among patients taking efavirenz-based ART was low with most cases developing early on during treatment. Most cases resolved completely after withdrawing efavirenz.