Anemia among Children living with HIV/AIDS on HAART in Mekelle general Hospital, Northern Ethiopia �?? a cross sectional study

Background

Anemia is a common complication of pediatric HIV infection, facilitating HIV disease progression, and decreasing survival. In Ethiopia, there is limited evidence on the prevalence of anemia among HIV positive children.

Objective

To determine the prevalence of anemia in HIV infected children on HAART aged 6 months to 14 years in Mekelle Hospital antiretroviral treatment (ART) clinic, Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia, from October- April 2018.

Methods

 An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 241 HIV infected children attending Mekelle Hospital ART clinic from October to December 2018. Data on socio-demographic were collected using a structured pretested questionnaire. Hemoglobin values were determined by cell sysmex xp-100 machine. To define anemia, WHO Cut off values of hemoglobin were utilized after adjusting the values for to altitude of the study area.

Results

 Among 241 participants, 16 (7%) were anemic in this study. Of the anemic children, 56%, 19%, and 25 % had mild, moderate, and severe anemia, respectively. Nearly half of 47.7% (7/16) of the anemic children had normocytic-normochromic anemia type followed by macrocytic-normochromic anemia, 38.6 % (93/241). CONCLUSTION: In this study, the prevalence of anemia among participants was found to be 7% and 25 % of them had severe anemia.

Keywords: Anemia, Children, HIV, Hemoglobin, HAART, Mekelle general Hospital, Ethiopia

Author(s):

Feven Tesfay1* , Abrha Gebregrges1 , Haftay Gebrehiwot1 , Haftu Hailekiros1 , Letegebriel Girmay1 , Hadush Bekuretsion2 , Gebrekidan Gebrezigher3 , Gebreslassie Gebremariam 1

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