Antiretroviral Therapy – Changes of Basic Laboratory Parameters in Hiv-Infected Bulgarian Patients

HIV-1 infection keeps on being a global problem because of its pandemic character and the impossibility for eradication. The combined antiretroviral therapy (АRТ) remains the only treatment which has proven its effectiveness for maintaining the life of HIV positive patients. Because of long term (life time) duration of this therapy, it is necessary to monitor patients for possible drug toxicity. The aim of our research is to evaluate the changes of basic laboratory examinations while conducting a long-term АRТ. We analyzed basic laboratory studies of 145 HIV-infected Bulgarian patients in the current research. The patients were separated into four groups according to their treatment regimen. They were on dispensary monitoring and were being treated in the Department for Patients with Acquired Immune Deficiency in the Specialized Hospital for Active Treatment of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases “Prof. Ivan Kirov” - Sofia. Our results showed that combined ART led to changes in blood count, alanin-aminotransferase (ALT), glucose and total cholesterol. Some of these changes are significant for some of the drugs administered. The current ART does not lead to severe toxicity and life-threatening conditions such as those which were observed in the first few years of ART introduction.