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.