Carotid intima-media thickness, flow-mediated dilatation and proteinuria in patients of human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients: A case–control study

Introduction: Endothelium-dysfunction (ED) is a surrogate marker of coronary atherosclerotic disease. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), and proteinuria are surrogate markers of ED. Few studies have shown that patients with HIV have impaired endothelial function and are thus at risk of accelerated atherosclerosis. Materials and Methods: The present study assessed ED in HIV patients by various biophysical parameters as brachial artery FMD, CIMT, and proteinuria. A total of 43 HIV-infected patients were compared with 25 healthy controls who were healthy. Results: Mean age of patients with HIV was 33.84 ± 5.61 years while that of healthy controls was 31.48 ± 5.40 years. Male to female ratio among cases was 24:19 while among controls was 17:8. Mean CIMT was significantly higher among cases than control (0.513 ± 0.079, 0.452 ± 0.050 mm, respectively, P = 0.001). Percentage change in FMD was significantly lower among cases than control (3.27 ± 2.01, 6.96 ± 1.28, respectively, P = 0.001). Urine protein grading was significantly different between cases and controls ( P = 0.007), with stable HIV cases having significantly higher urine protein grading compared to healthy controls. However, no correlation was seen between CIMT, FMD, and proteinuria overall among cases and controls. Conclusions: HIV-infected patients have significant impairment of endothelial function, in the form of increased CIMT, impaired FMD, and more proteinuria as compared to healthy controls.