Data from: Effect of HIV and malaria parasites co-infection on immune-hematological profiles among patients attending anti-retroviral treatment (ART) clinic in Infectious Disease Hospital Kano, Nigeria

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and malaria co-infection may
present worse health outcomes in the tropics. Information on HIV/malaria
co-infection effect on immune-hematological profiles is critical for
patient care and there is a paucity of such data in Nigeria. Objective To
evaluate immune-hematological profiles among HIV infected patients
compared to HIV/malaria co-infected for ART management improvement.
Methods This was a cross sectional study conducted at Infectious Disease
Hospital, Kano. A total of 761 consenting adults attending ART clinic were
randomly selected and recruited between June and December 2015.
Participants’ characteristics and clinical details including two previous
CD4 counts were collected. Venous blood sample (4ml) was collected in EDTA
tube for malaria parasite diagnosis by rapid test and confirmed with
microscopy. Hematological profiles were analyzed by Sysmex XP-300 and CD4
count by Cyflow cytometry. Data was analyzed with SPSS 22.0 using
Chi-Square test for association between HIV/malaria parasites co-infection
with age groups, gender, ART, cotrimoxazole and usage of treated bed nets.
Mean hematological profiles by HIV/malaria co-infection and HIV only were
compared using independent t-test and mean CD4 count tested by mixed
design repeated measures ANOVA. Statistical significant difference at
probability of <0.05 was considered for all variables. Results Of
the 761 HIV infected, 64% were females, with a mean age of ± (SD) 37.30
(10.4) years. Prevalence of HIV/malaria co-infection was 27.7% with
Plasmodium falciparum specie accounting for 99.1%. No statistical
significant difference was observed between HIV/malaria co-infection in
association to age (p = 0.498) and gender (p = 0.789). A significantly (p
= 0.026) higher prevalence (35.2%) of co-infection was observed among
non-ART patients compared to (26%) ART patients. Prevalence of
co-infection was significantly lower (20.0%) among cotrimoxazole users
compared to those not on cotrimoxazole (37%). The same significantly lower
co-infection prevalence (22.5%) was observed among treated bed net users
compared to those not using treated bed nets (42.9%) (p = 0.001). Out of
16 hematology profiles evaluated, six showed significant difference
between the two groups (i) packed cell volume (p = <0.001), (ii)
mean cell volume (p = 0.005), (iii) mean cell hemoglobin concentration (p
= 0.011), (iv) absolute lymphocyte count (p = 0.022), (v) neutrophil
percentage count (p = 0.020) and (vi) platelets distribution width (p =
<0.001). Current mean CD4 count cell/μl (349±12) was significantly
higher in HIV infected only compared to co-infected (306±17), (p = 0.035).
A significantly lower mean CD4 count (234.6 ± 6.9) was observed among
respondents on ART compared to non-ART (372.5 ± 13.2), p<0.001,
mean difference = -137.9). Conclusion The study revealed a high burden of
HIV and malaria co-infection among the studied population. Co-infection
was significantly lower among patients who use treated bed nets as well as
cotrimoxazole chemotherapy and ART. Six hematological indices differed
significantly between the two groups. Malaria and HIV co-infection
significantly reduces CD4 count. In general, to achieve better management
of all HIV patients in this setting, diagnosing malaria, prompt
antiretroviral therapy, monitoring CD4 and some hematology indices on
regular basis is critical.