Antiretroviral agents during pregnancy: Consequences on hematologic parameters in HIV-exposed, uninfected newborn infant

Objectives: To study the effect of antiretroviral drugs administered to pregnant women on hematologic parameters of the neonate. Study design: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 52 neonates divided into three groups: ZDV group, infants born to HIV-infected mothers taking zidovudine (n = 18); triple therapy (TT) group, infants born to mothers taking zidovudine + lamivudine + nelfinavir (n = 22), and control group, infants born to normal women (n = 12). Umbilical cord blood from the newborn infant was used to determine hemoglobin, lymphocyte and platelet. Data were analyzed statistically by the nonparametric tests, with the level of significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The major maternal demographic and anthropometric data were homogeneous for the various groups. There was a reduction in hemoglobin levels at birth among TT group newborns (p = 0.016). There was no difference between groups regarding gestation length, Apgar scores, platelets or absolute lymphocyte count for the newborn. Conclusions: An association between the use of combination antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy and reduced neonatal hemoglobin levels was observed, supporting the need for short- and long-term follow-up of infants exposed to antiretroviral drugs during uterine life. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.