[Is ovarian function impaired in HIV patients? A clinical pilot study in Burkina Faso]. / La fonction ovarienne est-elle altérée chez les patientes séropositives pour le VIH? Une étude pilote au Burkina Faso.

A lot of studies published on the ten last years showed a decrease of fertility among HIV positive women. The present research aims to see if this decrease is linked to an ovarian failure, using AMH as principal marker of ovarian function. In this pilot study, 54 HIV-positive and 39 HIV-negative women were compared on the basis of their ovarian function, fecundity and possible ovarian failure. A blood sample was taken for hormonal titrations, HIV seropositivity, viral load and CD4 T cell count. An interview explored demographic characteristics, obstetrical and infectious history, and menstrual characteristics. This study was performed in Burkina Faso between January and February 2008. There is no significant difference after adjusting for age of AMH level between the two groups. However, in our study, 5.5% of HIV positive women had a premature menopause, which is a significant variation from the premature menopause rates of the African population, which is 1.4%. In conclusion, this study put the HIV impact on ovarian function into perspective but the high premature menopause rates could suggest an ovarian attack by the virus or the treatment.

Incidence of tuberculosis after HAART initiation in a cohort of HIV-positive patients in Burkina Faso.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence rates of tuberculosis (TB) after the initiation of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on four human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment centres in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. TB incidence was measured at different intervals after HAART initiation. Cox regression models were used to identify factors associated with TB incidence. RESULTS: We analysed a cohort of 2383 subjects with a mean follow-up period of 836 days (standard deviation +/- 443.4). TB incidence rate was highest during the first trimester of HAART; after 3 months of treatment, the total TB case incidence dropped by 60% from 5.77/100 person-years (py) to 2.23/100 py. World Health Organization clinical Stage III or IV, CD4+ T-cell count < 50 cells/microl and body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 were associated with increased risk of TB on univariate analysis. In the Cox regression, BMI < 18.5 and CD4+ T-cell count < 50 cells/microl at HAART initiation were independently associated with a two-fold higher risk of TB. CONCLUSIONS: Delaying HAART initiation until the CD4+ T-cell count drops to <50 cells/microl significantly increases TB incidence in the first 3 months after HAART initiation. Active case finding for TB is an essential element of standard clinical care in HIV-positive patients during the initial period of HAART.