Dominique Savio Habimana
Kibagabaga Hospital, Rwanda
Title: Alpha-fetoprotein levels in HBV and HIV co-infected versus solely HBV infected patients attending Kibagabaga Hospital from March 2015 to March 2016
Biography
Biography: Dominique Savio Habimana
Abstract
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a serum glycoprotein secreted by the liver in fetal life and by liver tumors, even though not very specific but being the most available and affordable in our settings, it has been used as a predictor of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in HIV and HBV co-infected versus solely HBV infected patients. This study was aiming at assessing the real impact of HIV on the prognosis of HBV infected patients. A random study with neither sex nor age selection was conducted for 50 HIV and HBV co-infected and 50 solely HBV infected patients attending our Internal Medicine Clinic. The findings were: For all co-infected patients, the level of AFP was considerably higher, 6 times than the solely HBV infected patients: 36 HBV and HIV co-infected patients were with remarkably increased AFP level with worse clinical manifestations whereas for the solely HBV infected, only 6 showed AFP level that was above the upper limit with relatively light clinical manifestations; among HIV and HBV co-infected patients, only 4 cleared the HBV infection while for the other part 20 of them cleared.The remaining ones were with dormant, non-active infection. In conclusion; HIV is an accelerator of HBV infection towards hepatocellurar carcinoma as well as liver cirrhosis and bad prognosis in general.