Neutrophil/lymphocyte and platelet/lymphocyte ratio in seropositive women for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) coinfection

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the possible association between neutrophil/lymphocyte and platelet/lymphocyte ratio in women with HIV, undergoing antiretroviral treatment, with HPV coinfection. This is a cross-sectional study with HIV positive women; their biological samples were collected for laboratory tests (complete blood count) and oncotic cytology for detection of HPV DNA, by PCR-Nested (PGMY and GP primers). Viral load and CD4 and CD8 T-cells counts were obtained from medical records. The data were analyzed, comparing the two groups: those with coinfection and those without it. From 82 HIV seropositive women, 50% exhibited HPV coinfection and 12.2% of coinfected patients had cervical cell alterations. Quantification of viral load, CD4 and CD8 T-cells count, CD4 / CD8 ratio and neutrophil/lymphocyte (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte (PLR) ratio presented significant differences between groups (p<0.05). The predicting power of NLR and PLR in differentiating HIV/HPV coinfection which demonstrated differences between groups (AUC of 0.882 and 0.776 for NLR and PLR, respectively). There is a relation between the neutrophil/lymphocyte and platelet/lymphocyte ratio with HIV/HPV coinfection in women undergoing antiretroviral treatment, suggesting a state of greater and persistent systemic inflammation, reflecting as a biomarker for screening and monitoring these patients.