Advanced abdominal ectopic pregnancy and the role of antenatal ultrasound scan in its diagnosis and management.

Abdominal pregnancy is a very rare form of ectopic gestation in which implantation occurs in the peritoneal cavity. It accounts for about 1% of all ectopic pregnancies and is associated with a higher risk of morbidity and mortality due to complications such as preeclampsia, placenta abruption, and oligohydromnios, which necessitate pregnancy termination before term, and the risk of massive hemorrhage associated with abnormal placentation. We present a case of advanced abdominal ectopic pregnancy, diagnosed in the second trimester and complicated by anhydramnios. An abdominal ultrasound scan showed a nongravid uterus and a single live extrauterine fetus within the abdominal cavity, with no surrounding liquor at 23 weeks and 3 days average gestational age. Mother was consented and an emergency laparatomy performed. A premature baby was delivered but died in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after 4 hours due to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. Mother had good postoperative recovery. Advanced abdominal ectopic pregnancy though very rare, is associated with complications that lead to early termination. Ultrasound scan is a reliable tool for the diagnosis of abdominal pregnancy in settings with limited access to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). It should be recommended to all mothers at their earliest antenatal care (ANC) visit to help determine the site of pregnancy and guide further intervention.

Correlates of physical activity among people living with and without HIV in rural Uganda.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to diminishing AIDS-related mortality but a concomitant increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) for people with HIV (PWH). Whereas physical activity (PA) has been shown to help prevent NCDs and NCD outcomes in other settings, there are few data on PA and its correlates among PWH in high-endemic settings. We aimed to compare PA by HIV serostatus in rural Uganda. Methods: We analysed data from the UGANDAC study, an observational cohort including PWH in ambulatory HIV care in Mbarara, Uganda, and age- and gender-matched people without HIV (PWOH). Our primary outcome of interest was PA, which we assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and considered as a continuous measure of metabolic equivalents in minutes/week (MET-min/week). Our primary exposure of interest was HIV serostatus. We fit univariable and multivariable linear regression models to estimate the relationship between HIV and PA levels, with and without addition of sociodemographic and clinical correlates of PA (MET-min/week). In secondary analyses, we explored relationships restricted to rural residents, and interactions between gender and serostatus. Results: We enrolled 309 participants, evenly divided by serostatus and gender. The mean age of PWH was 52 [standard deviation (SD) 7.2] and 52.6 (SD 7.3) for PWOH. In general, participants engaged in high levels of PA regardless of serostatus, with 81.2% (251/309) meeting criteria for high PA. However, PWOH reported higher mean levels of PA met-minutes/week than PWH (9,128 vs 7,152, p ≤ 0.001), and a greater proportion of PWOH (88.3%; 136/154) met the criteria for high PA compared to PWH (74.2%; 115/155). In adjusted models, lower levels of PA persisted among PWH (ß = -1,734, 95% CI: -2,645, -824, p ≤ 0.001). Results were similar in a sensitivity analysis limited to people living in rural areas. Conclusion: In a rural Ugandan cohort, PWOH had higher levels of PA than PWH. Interventions that encourage PA among PWH may have a role in improving NCD risk profiles among PWH in the region.

Lung function and atherosclerosis: a cross-sectional study of multimorbidity in rural Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of global mortality. In high-income settings, the presence of cardiovascular disease among people with COPD increases mortality and complicates longitudinal disease management. An estimated 26 million people are living with COPD in sub-Saharan Africa, where risk factors for co-occurring pulmonary and cardiovascular disease may differ from high-income settings but remain uncharacterized. As non-communicable diseases have become the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, defining multimorbidity in this setting is critical to inform the required scale-up of existing healthcare infrastructure. METHODS: We measured lung function and carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) among participants in the UGANDAC Study. Study participants were over 40 years old and equally divided into people living with HIV (PLWH) and an age- and sex-similar, HIV-uninfected control population. We fit multivariable linear regression models to characterize the relationship between lung function (forced expiratory volume in one second, FEV1) and pre-clinical atherosclerosis (cIMT), and evaluated for effect modification by age, sex, smoking history, HIV, and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Of 265 participants, median age was 52 years, 125 (47%) were women, and 140 (53%) were PLWH. Most participants who met criteria for COPD were PLWH (13/17, 76%). Median cIMT was 0.67 mm (IQR: 0.60 to 0.74), which did not differ by HIV serostatus. In models adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, smoking, and HIV, lower FEV1 was associated with increased cIMT (ß = 0.006 per 200 mL FEV1 decrease; 95% CI 0.002 to 0.011, p = 0.01). There was no evidence that age, sex, HIV serostatus, smoking, or socioeconomic status modified the relationship between FEV1 and cIMT. CONCLUSIONS: Impaired lung function was associated with increased cIMT, a measure of pre-clinical atherosclerosis, among adults with and without HIV in rural Uganda. Future work should explore how co-occurring lung and cardiovascular disease might share risk factors and contribute to health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Prevalence and correlates of carotid plaque in a mixed HIV-serostatus cohort in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: The extent to which the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) is increased among people living with HIV (PLWH) in sub-Saharan Africa remains unknown. SETTING: Cross-sectional analysis nested within the Ugandan Noncommunicable Diseases and Aging Cohort, including PLWH in rural Uganda > 40 years taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 3 years, and a population-based control group of HIV-uninfected age- and sex-matched persons. METHODS: We conducted carotid ultrasonography and collected ACVD risk factor data. Our outcome of interest was carotid plaque, defined as > 1.5 mm thickness from the intima-lumen interface to the media-adventitia interface. We fit multivariable logistic regression models to estimate correlates of carotid plaque including HIV-specific and traditional cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: We enrolled 155 (50.2%) PLWH and 154 (49.8%) HIV-uninfected comparators, with a mean age of  51.4 years. Among PLWH, the median CD4 count was 433 cells/mm3 and 97.4% were virologically suppressed. Carotid plaque prevalence was higher among PLWH (8.4% vs 3.3%). HIV infection (aOR 3.90; 95% CI 1.12-13.60) and current smokers (aOR 6.60; 95% CI 1.22-35.80) had higher odds of carotid plaque, whereas moderate (aOR 0.13, 95% CI 0.01-1.55) and vigorous intensity of physical activity (aOR 0.34, 95% CI 0.07-1.52) were associated with decreased odds of carotid plaque. CONCLUSION: In rural Uganda, PLWH have higher prevalence of carotid plaque compared to age- and sex-matched HIV-uninfected comparators. Future work should explore how biomedical and lifestyle modifications might reduce atherosclerotic burden among PLWH in the region.

Treated HIV Infection and Progression of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Rural Uganda: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Background Although ≈70% of the world's population of people living with HIV reside in sub-Saharan Africa, there are minimal prospective data on the contributions of HIV infection to atherosclerosis in the region. Methods and Results We conducted a prospective observational cohort study of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy >40 years of age in rural Uganda, along with population-based comparators not infected with HIV. We collected data on cardiovascular disease risk factors and carotid ultrasound measurements annually. We fitted linear mixed effects models, adjusted for cardiovascular disease risk factors, to estimate the association between HIV serostatus and progression of carotid intima media thickness (cIMT). We enrolled 155 people living with HIV and 154 individuals not infected with HIV and collected cIMT images at 1045 visits during a median of 4 annual visits per participant (interquartile range 3-4, range 1-5). Age (median 50.9 years) and sex (49% female) were similar by HIV serostatus. At enrollment, there was no difference in mean cIMT by HIV serostatus (0.665 versus 0.680 mm, P=0.15). In multivariable models, increasing age, blood pressure, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with greater cIMT (P<0.05), however change in cIMT per year was also no different by HIV serostatus (0.004 mm/year for HIV negative [95% CI, 0.001-0.007 mm], 0.006 mm/year for people living with HIV [95% CI, 0.003-0.008 mm], HIV×time interaction P=0.25). Conclusions In rural Uganda, treated HIV infection was not associated with faster cIMT progression. These results do not support classification of treated HIV infection as a risk factor for subclinical atherosclerosis progression in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Registration URL: https://www.ClinicalTrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02445079.

To fast or not to fast: Lipid measurement and cardiovascular disease risk estimation in rural sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA), highlighting the need for tools to enable CVD risk stratification in the region. Although non-HDL-cholesterol (nHDL-C) has been promoted as a method to measure lipids without a requirement for fasting in the USA, its diagnostic validity has not been assessed in sSA. We sought to estimate: 1) the association between LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and nHDL-C, 2) the impact of fasting on their measurement, and 3) their correlation with carotid atherosclerosis, within a rural Ugandan population with high HIV prevalence. METHODS: We collected traditional CVD risk factors, blood for serum lipid levels, self-reported fasting status, and performed carotid ultrasonography in 301 participants in rural Uganda. We fit regression models, stratified by fasting status, to estimate associations between carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), LDL-C, and nHDL-C. RESULTS: Median age was 50 years (interquartile range = 46-54), 49% were female, 51% were HIV-positive, and at the time of blood collection, 70% had fasted overnight. Mean LDL-C, nHDL-C, and triglycerides in the non-fasting and fasting groups were 85 vs 88 mg/dL (P = 0.39), 114 vs 114 mg/dL (P = 0.98), and 130 vs 114 mg/dL (P = 0.05) mg/dL, respectively. In unadjusted models, mean cIMT (mm) was associated with both increased LDL-C (ß = 0.0078 per 10mg/dL, P < 0.01) and nHDL-C (ß = 0.0075, P < 0.01), and these relationships were similar irrespective of fasting status. After adjustment for traditional CVD risk factors, we observed similar associations, albeit with muted effect sizes within the fasting group. CONCLUSIONS: We found a high correlation between LDL-C and nHDL-C, and both were correlated with cIMT, irrespective of fasting or HIV serostatus in rural Uganda. Our findings support use of either fasting or non-fasting serum lipids for CVD risk estimation in rural sSA.

Distribution and Performance of Cardiovascular Risk Scores in a Mixed Population of HIV-Infected and Community-Based HIV-Uninfected Individuals in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: The utility and validity of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk scores are not well studied in sub-Saharan Africa. We compared and correlated CVD risk scores with carotid intima media thickness (c-IMT) among HIV-infected and uninfected people in Uganda. METHODS: We first calculated CVD risk using the (1) Framingham laboratory-based score; (2) Framingham nonlaboratory score (FRS-BMI); (3) Reynolds risk score; (4) American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association score; and (5) the Data collection on Adverse Effects of Anti-HIV Drugs score. We then compared absolute risk scores and risk categories across each score using Pearson correlation and kappa statistics, respectively. Finally, we fit linear regression models to estimate the strength of association between each risk score and c-IMT. RESULTS: Of 205 participants, half were females and median age was 49 years [interquartile range (IQR) 46-53]. Median CD4 count was 430 cells/mm (IQR 334-546), with median 7 years of antiretroviral therapy exposure (IQR 6.4-7.5). HIV-uninfected participants had a higher median systolic blood pressure (121 vs. 110 mm Hg), prevalent current smokers (18% vs. 4%, P = 0.001), higher median CVD risk scores (P < 0.003), and greater c-IMT (0.68 vs. 0.63, P = 0.003). Overall, FRS-BMI was highly correlated with other risk scores (all rho >0.80). In linear regression models, we found significant correlations between increasing CVD risk and higher c-IMT (P < 0.01 in all models). CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional study from Uganda, the FRS-BMI correlated well with standard risk scores and c-IMT. HIV-uninfected individuals had higher risk scores than HIV-infected individuals, and the difference seemed to be driven by modifiable factors.

Ideal Cardiovascular Health and Carotid Atherosclerosis in a Mixed Cohort of HIV-Infected and Uninfected Ugandans.

Preventable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are responsible for the majority of CVD-related deaths, and are increasingly recognized as a cause of morbidity and mortality for HIV-infected persons taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). Simplified tools such as the American Heart Association's ideal cardiovascular health (iCVH) construct may identify and prognosticate CVD risk in resource-limited settings. No studies have evaluated iCVH metrics in sub-Saharan Africa or among HIV-infected adults. Thus, the central aim of this study was to compare levels of iCVH metrics and their correlations with carotid atherosclerosis for HIV-infected adults versus uninfected controls in a well-phenotyped Ugandan cohort. We analyzed the prevalence of iCVH metrics in a mixed cohort of HIV-infected persons on stable ART and uninfected, population-based comparators in Mbarara, Uganda. We also assessed the validity of iCVH by correlating iCVH values with common carotid intima media thickness (CCIMT). HIV-infected persons had a mean of 4.9 (SD 1.1) iCVH metrics at ideal levels versus 4.3 (SD 1.2) for uninfected controls (p = .002). This difference was largely driven by differences in blood pressure, blood glucose, and diet. In multivariable-adjusted linear regression models, each additional iCVH metric at an ideal level was associated with a significant 0.024 mm decrease in CCIMT (p < .001).HIV-infected persons on ART in rural Uganda had more iCVH metrics at ideal levels than uninfected persons. The difference appeared driven by factors that are putatively influenced by access to routine medical care. Composite scores of iCVH metrics were associated with subclinical atherosclerosis and more predictive of atherosclerosis for uninfected persons.

Persistent Immune Activation and Carotid Atherosclerosis in HIV-Infected Ugandans Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and associated immune activation predict the risk of cardiovascular disease in resource-rich areas. Less is known about these relationships in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: Beginning in 2005, we enrolled subjects in southwestern Uganda into a cohort at the time of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Multiple immune activation measures were assessed before and 6 months after ART initiation. Beginning in 2013, participants aged >40 years underwent metabolic profiling, including measurement of hemoglobin A1c and lipid levels and carotid ultrasonography. We fit regression models to identify traditional and HIV-specific correlates of common carotid intima media thickness (CCIMT). RESULTS: A total of 105 participants completed carotid ultrasonography, with a median completion time of 7 years following ART initiation. Age, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and pre-ART HIV load were correlated with CCIMT. No association was found between CCIMT and any pre-ART biomarkers of immune activation. However, in multivariable models adjusted for cardiovascular disease risk factors, lower absolute levels of soluble CD14 and interleukin 6 and greater declines in the CD14 level and kynurenine-tryptophan ratio after 6 months of ART predicted a lower CCIMT years later (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Persistent immune activation despite ART-mediated viral suppression predicts the future atherosclerotic burden among HIV-infected Ugandans. Future work should focus on clinical correlates of these relationships, to elucidate the long-term health priorities for HIV-infected people in the region.