Photo Credit: Piyaset

Patients with HIV have a greater prevalence of non-calcified plaque than patients who do not have HIV, according to results published in BMJ Open. Edward Hulten, MD, MPH, and colleagues examined studies evaluating coronary atherosclerosis in adults with HIV compared with controls and coronary CT angiography (CTA) results for plaque prevalence, extent, severity, and high-degree stenosis. Patients with HIV experienced a significantly higher prevalence of non-calcified coronary plaque (34% vs 22% in controls; OR=1.61; P=0.009). However, no significant differences were found in partially calcified plaque, stenosis prevalence, calcified plaque, or overall plaque burden compared with controls. The median Segment Stenosis Score also did not differ between groups. “Additional research is needed to assess quantitative CTA measurements,” Dr. Hulten and colleagues wrote. “Increased power may reveal a difference in the prevalence of high-degree stenosis and median [Segment Involvement Score] in [people with HIV], while controls may have a greater prevalence of calcified plaque.”