Plasma Lipids and CD4 Count of Newly Diagnosed HIV Sero-Positive Patients at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION The pathogenesis of HIV has been linked to the affectation of a number of CD4 positive T cells upon which the severity of the disease is graded. Patients who present with complications such as disorders of lipid metabolism may be missed if appropriate laboratory investigations are not done. Dyslipidemia is a common phenomenon in patients with HIV infection. Early consideration of this may prevent further associated complications. OBJECTIVES To determine the baseline parameters in plasma lipid profile in HIV positive patients and how they are affected by the severity of infection as measured by CD4 count. METHODS This is a retrospective study of which records of patients that attended Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) clinic of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State Nigeria were looked into. All patients who attended our treatment sites for HIV/AIDS Counselling and Testing Program from June 2008 and October 2013 for the first time were reviewed. Records of four hundred and sixty-one (461) patients were found suitable and used for the study. Information about the age. RESULTS There are statistical significant differences among categories of patients in plasma Triglyceride (TG) mmol/L (p 400 cells/µl (p=1.000) categories were compared. Comparisons of TC/HDL-Chol in different study classifications show significant differences when CD4 count of 400 cells/µl categories (p<0.001). CONCLUSION Plasma TG and TC/HDL-Chol were observed to have an association with severity of HIV infection as measured by a corresponding reduction in CD4 count.