Epidemiology of thrombocytopenia in HIV inlection

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Abstract
Thrombocytopenia is a known complication of human immunodeficiency virus Type‐I (HIV‐1) infection, and more data need to be collected on its frequency, severity, and clinical sequelae. We determined the frequency of thrombocytopenia and its relationship to other HIV infection characteristics from a review of records of 1004 HIV‐infected patients attending two outpatient clinics in Washington, D.C. The self‐reported sources of HIV‐1 exposure were male homosexual activity (68j, bisexual activity (10%), heterosexual activity (6%), and intravenous drug use (15%). Fifty‐nine percent of the individuals were white, 37% were black and 94% were male. Fifteen percent had AIDS. Thrombocytopenia occurred more frequently in subjects with AIDS (21.2%) than in HIV‐infected individuals who did not fit clinical criteria for AIDS (9.2%) (p3vs 8 % with CD4 counts between 200 and 500 (p3. Thrombocytopenia was more frequent in white males and older subjects. Although subjects infected by heterosexual exposure had a lower frequency of thrombocytopenia, intravenous drug users and homosexual men exhibited similar frequencies of thrombocytopenia. Of all subjects with platelet counts less than 50000/mm3, 40% reported bleeding and 1 died of an intracranial hemorrhage. Thrombocytopenia occurs frequently in HIV‐infected people, primarily in those with AIDS, low CD4 cell numbers, and advanced stages of diseases