Renal Function Evaluation of HAART and HAART-Naïve HIV/AIDS Patients in Makurdi, Nigeria

Background and Objective: Antiretroviral (ART) drugs have been suspected to impair renal function and there appears to be a paucity of data on renal function amongst Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive patients in Nigeria/West Africa. Therefore, this study was to assess the effect of HAART on renal function in HIV-positive patients and to determine the prevalence of the renal disease among these patients in Makurdi, North-Central, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted between May, 2017 and July, 2018 assessed the renal function of patients distributed into four groups, group 1 (HIV positive HAART naïve patients = 60 subjects), group 2 (HIV positive patients on HAART for 0-2 years = 60 subjects), group 3 (HIV positive patients on HAART for >2 years = 60 subjects) and group 4 (HIV negative patients (control group) = 60 subjects). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 21. Values of p<0.05 were considered significant. Results: Out of the 240 participants in the study sub-divided into 4 groups, 60 were HIV negative and 180 were HIV positive. Of the 180 HIV positive patients, 75.8% were females and 24.2% were males. The findings revealed a significant decrease in body weight and CD4 counts of HIV positive patients in comparison with the control group. There was no significant difference between the Creatinine Clearance (eCrCl) of the HIV positive HAART naïve patients (106.40±36.97 mL min‾1), HIV positive patients on HAART for 0-2 years (104.70±34.09 mL min‾1) and HIV positive patients on HAART for >2 years (99.97±36.26 mL min‾1) and the control (HIV negative = 108±22.13 mL min‾1). Prevalence of renal impairment for HIV/AIDS-HAART naïve patients was 5% and 7.5% for HIV/AIDS on HAART for 0-2 years and >2 years. Conclusion: The prevalence of renal impairment among HIV-positive study participants was minimal and may not be linked to the HAART regimen.