RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: With the introduction of triple therapy regimen in 1996, the morbidity and mortality associated with HIV infection decreased significantly. Concomitantly with this clinical success, several metabolic changes including diabetes, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia and lipodystrophy were observed, being associated with the risk of stroke. This study aims to determine the incidence of strokes in HIV-positive patients treated with long term antiretroviral treatment. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of HIV-positive adult patients receiving long term antiretroviral treatment for at least 12 months. It was conducted at the Approved Treatment Centres of Douala General Hospital (HGD); data collection spanned a 10-year period from May 2001 to April 2010. Patients were treated according to Cameroon national treatment guidelines. The Kaplan-Meyer method was used to determine the time of stroke onset. The Khi-2 test was used to investigate the association between two qualitative variables. The statistical significance level was set at 0.05. RESULTS: 407 patients were included in the study, 62.4% were female, the average age was 40.1 ± 9.9 years. The incidence of strokes was 1.7% over 72 months follow up with no significant difference between women and men (P = 0.76). The incidence rate was calculated to be 0.3 per 100 person years. 85.7% of cases had an ischemic stroke. The mean time from stroke onset was 33.4 months. Factors associated with stroke occurrence were: patients who underwent treatment at WHO Clinical Stage III and IV and with CD4 count> 100/mm3at the start of antiretroviral therapy. CONCLUSION: The incidence of stroke in HIV-positive patients treated with long term antiretroviral therapy is similar to that previously reported but these strokes occur at an early age and justify increased clinical monitoring. A prospective study involving a control population is needed.
