Vasculoplacental complications in pregnant women with HIV infection: a case-control study

Data from the international literature suggest that there may be an association between maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and vasculoplacental complications during pregnancy. Studies on this subject have reached discordant conclusions. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of vasculoplacental complications during pregnancy in women with and without HIV infection.

This single-center case-control study compared the incidence of pregnancy-related hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia, and vascular intrauterine growth restriction in 280 women with HIV and 560 women not infected with HIV, matched for age, parity, and geographic origin.

The incidence rates of pregnancy-related hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia, and vascular growth restriction did not differ between the women with and without HIV infection. The overall incidence of vasculoplacental complications did not differ between the 2 groups (7.5% vs 9.8%, respectively; P = .27). The risk of these was not associated with exposure to antiretroviral treatments, viral load, or CD4 T-cell counts at the beginning of pregnancy.

This study shows no difference in the incidence of vasculoplacental complications between women with and without HIV infection.