Pericardial effusion of HIV-infected patients - results of a prospective multicenter cohort study in the era of antiretroviral therapy

Background Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Previous publications described pericardial effusion as one of the most common HIV-associated cardiac affiliations. The aim of the current study was to investigate if pericardial effusion still has a relevant meaning of HIV-infected patients in the era of antiretroviral therapy.Methods The HIV-HEART (HIV-infection and HEART disease) study is a cardiology driven, prospective and multicenter cohort study. Outpatients with a known HIV-infection were recruited during a 20-month period in a consecutive manner from September 2004 to May 2006. The study comprehend classic parameters of HIV-infection, comprising CD4-cell count (cluster of differentiation) and virus load, as well as non-invasive tests of cardiac diseases, including a thorough transthoracic echocardiography.Results 802 HIV-infected patients (female: 16.6%) with a mean age of 44.2 ± 10.3 years, were included. Duration of HIV-infection since initial diagnosis was 7.6 ± 5.8 years. Of all participants, 85.2% received antiretroviral therapy. Virus load was detectable in 34.4% and CD4 - cell count was in 12.4% less than 200 cells/μl. Pericardial effusions were present in only two patients of the analysed population. None of the participants had signs of a relevant cardiovascular impairment by pericardial effusion.Conclusions Our results demonstrate that the era of antiretroviral therapy goes along with low rates of pericardial effusions in HIV-infected outpatients. Our findings are in contrast to the results of publications, performed before the common use of antiretroviral therapy.