Correlation between Serum CD4 Count and Neuropathic Pain in HIV AIDS Patients

Peripheral neuropathic pain is a neurological complication frequently met in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients. This study aimed to determine whether the level of serum CD4 and other factors were correlated with neuropathic pain in HIV/AIDS patients. The study was designed as cross-sectional with consecutive sampling in all patients undergoing treatment in Sanglah AIDS research Centre (SARC) during period of March – August 2013. The neuropathic pain was assessed using The Leed Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Sign pain scale (LANSS). From the 46 subjects with HIV, 65.2% was male (n = 30), 34.8% was female (n = 16), with mean age 35.72 years old. The result showed correlation between CD4 count (r = -0.348; p = 0.018), stadium of HIV (r = 0.358; p = 0.014) and duration of ARV treatment (r = 0.330; p = 0.025) and LANSS score. Factors proven to be correlated with neuropathic pain in HIV/AIDS patients are CD4 count, stages of HIV and duration of ARV treatment.