Hematological abnormalities and associated factors among adult HIV/AIDS patients on antiretroviral therapy at Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital: A cross sectional study

Hematological abnormalities are common in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and can have significant clinical implications. These abnormalities can affect various components of the blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. However, screening and follow up of HIV positive patients for these abnormalities is not well reported in Ethiopia, specifically in Harar. Therefore, this study is aimed to determine prevalence of hematological abnormalities and associated factors among Adult HIV infected patients on antiretroviral therapy at the Antiretroviral clinic of Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia, from September 2, October 30, 2024. A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted by involving 300 study participants using convenient sampling technique. Data related to socio-demographic, clinical and dietary variables were collected using structured questionnaires. All phase of quality assurance was maintained. Four milliliters of venous blood were collected from each study participant and complete blood count was determined using unicell DxH 800 hematological analyzer. Logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between hematological abnormalities and independent variables. P < .05 was considered statically significant. The overall prevalence of hematological abnormality among HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients were 26.33%. Whereas prevalence of anemia, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia in this study were 16.7%, 4.33%, and 5.3%, respectively. HIV/AIDS patients with underweight BMI (AOR = 3.94, 95% CI: 1.08-14.36), male gender (AOR = 2.71, 95% CI: 1.35-5.44), HIV patients who have lived with HIV infections for more than 12 years (AOR = 2.77, 95% CI: 1.43-5.39) and HIV patients who have a monthly income of 1500 to 5000 Ethiopian birrs (AOR = 4.38, 95% CI: 1.19-16.1) were significantly associated with anemia. hematological abnormality was found to be a moderate public health problem among anti-retroviral therapy attendants in the current study area. Also, early detection and intervention among, males, patients having body mass index < 18.5 kg/m2, patients having low monthly income and patients who lived with HIV for more than 12 years is vital to reduce the magnitude of anemia and its consequences.