CLINICAL AND ANAMNESTIC FEATURES OF THE NEWBORNS WITH PERINATAL HIV EXPOSURE

Abstract

Introduction. Maternal HIV infection has many adverse effects, including low birth weight, which is the primary cause of neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality. In the literature, the issue of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in children who were born to HIV-positive mothers is being discussed, and the causes that may be the result of the direct effect of the virus, immunosuppression, or concomitant diseases are being studied. The association between maternal HIV infection and low birth weight (LBW) was not adequately explored and the available studies suggested inconsistent findings. Objective: to analyze the clinical and anamnestic data of the newborns with perinatal HIV exposure and to assess their physical development according to the gestational age and HIV stage of the mother. Material and methods. In order to achieve this goal, 34 medical histories of the patients who had been treated in the neonatal center of Vinnytsya Regional Children's Clinical Hospital from 2015 to 2022 with a diagnosis of perinatal HIV exposure were retrospectively analyzed. Results. According to the results of the study, a third of the children were born prematurely (12 (35 ± 8) %, 95%CI: 27–43 %). Сhildren born to mothers with stage IV of HIV infection had the lowest mean gestational age. When assessing the physical development of newborns according to gestational age, it was established that 9 children ((26 ± 8) %, 95%CI: 18–34 %) were small for gestational age, and 3 children ((9 ± 5) %, 95%CI: 4–14 %) were small-for-date. The lowest body weight values were observed in children born to mothers with stage IV of HIV infection – (1561.42 ± 0.21) g, which significantly differs from the weight of newborns whose mothers had HIV infection of stage I (2550.10 ± 1.51) g and stage II (2646.36 ± 1.69) g, p < 0.05. Conclusions. Among children with perinatal HIV exposure, there is a risk of premature birth with IUGR. Children born to mothers with stage IV HIV infection had significantly lower gestational age and body weight values.