ABSTRACT
Aim
To determine the prevalence and spectrum of ocular manifestations in PLHIV (people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus) on cART (combined Antiretroviral Therapy) and correlate them with WHO clinical staging, CD4 count, duration & type of cART.
Methods
Observational cross-sectional study. Ophthalmic evaluation of 350 PLHIV on cART (at least 6 months) was done. Logistic regression was done to correlate ocular findings with different variables. Results: Prevalence of ocular, anterior & posterior segment manifestations was 15.71%, 10.86%, and 4.00%, respectively. Dry eye(8.00%) being the most common finding. PLHIV with CD4 count ≤350 (OR = 3.1,p < 0.001), in WHO stage 3 (OR = 26.9,p = 0.004) & 4(OR = 60.7,p < 0.001) & on 3rdlineART were at much higher risk of ocular manifestations as compared to those on 2nd (OR = 2.83) and 1stline (OR = 6.6) of therapy. Duration of treatment had a protective (p = 0.01) effect on bilateral manifestations.
Conclusion
With early initiation of ART, there is significant reduction in the overall prevalence of ocular findings, in the number of opportunistic ophthalmic infections and blinding disorders. Of all the reported ocular findings, anterior segment disorder emerged more often.
Declaration of interest
None of the authors have any proprietary interests or conflicts of interest related to this submission