Van Marle, J.Mistry, P.P.Botes, K.2009-09-232009-09-232009-05Van Marle, J, Mistry, PP & Botes, K 2009, 'HIV-occlusive vascular disease', South African Journal of Surgery, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 36-42. [http://www.hmpg.co.za/journaldetail.php?journalno=8]0038-2361http://hdl.handle.net/2263/11364OBJECTIVES: To evaluate peripheral arterial occlusive disease in HIV-infected patients regarding clinical presentation and outcome of surgical intervention. DESIGN: Prospective clinical survey. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Routine voluntary testing for HIV / AIDS was performed in all patients presenting to our vascular unit. HIV+ patients were enrolled in a registry and followed up prospectively. RESULTS: We identified 154 HIV+ patients, of whom 91 (59%) presented with occlusive disease. There were 71 males and 20 females with a mean age of 44.2 years. The usual risk factors for atherosclerosis were present, but the incidence was less than reported in the classic atherosclerosis population. More than 90% of the patients presented with advanced stage vascular disease (Fontaine III/IV), which explains the high rate (31.9%) of primary amputation. Eighty-seven patients presented with lower-limb ischaemia, 2 patients with upper-limb ischaemia and 2 patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. Seventy-eight procedures were performed on 72 patients, with a perioperative mortality of 6.95%. The limb salvage rate for femoro-popliteal bypassprocedures was poor (36.1%), resulting in a high incidence of secondary amputations and prolonged hospital stay. Long-term mortality for the operated patients was 20% over a mean follow-up period of 15.4 months. Hypo-albuminaemia was found to be an important predictor of outcome. CONCLUSION: Patients presenting with HIV-associated peripheral arterial disease should be carefully selected for intervention, taking into consideration nutritional and immune status, stage of the vascular disease and selecting the appropriate procedure.enHealth and Medical Publishing GroupHIV-occlusiveVascular diseasePeripheral arterial occlusive diseaseClinical surveyHIV-positive persons -- ResearchBlood-vessels -- Diseases -- ResearchPeripheral vascular diseases -- ResearchOperations, SurgicalArticle