[Doppler echocardiography assessment of cardiac abnormalities in parenteral drug addicts]

Rev Esp Cardiol. 1992 Nov;45(9):554-9.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

We studied by Echocardiographic-Doppler 114 consecutive intravenous drugs addicts (IVDA); 91 were positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV+) and 23 negatives. We classified them in five groups; beginning the negative HIV as group 0, and groups I to IV stratified according the Central Disease Control (CDC) classification. We compared the cardiac abnormalities founded between themselves and a control group presumed healthy persons of similar age. The cardiac cavities dimensions showed a statistic significant increased left ventricular end-systolic and diastolic diameters, right ventricular diameter, posterior wall and interventricular septum thickness and aortic root diameter compared with the control group; but all were in the normal range for age. The left ventricular fractional shortening was statistically different from control group related the other groups, and the group IV related other. The existence and severity of pericardial effusions were directly related to the illness stage. We founded moderate pericardial effusions in 25% patients in the 0 to III groups, increasing until 50% in the group IV. The presence of valvular vegetations, nearly 30% in our series, ought to the IVDA. We did not found relationship between the severity of valvular incompetence and the illness stage. We recorded a excellent correlation between the ratio T4/T8 lymphocytes with the progress of illness and the existence and severity of cardiac abnormalities.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • CD4-CD8 Ratio
  • Echocardiography, Doppler*
  • HIV Seropositivity / complications
  • HIV Seropositivity / diagnostic imaging*
  • Heart Diseases / complications
  • Heart Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
  • Humans
  • Prospective Studies
  • Substance Abuse, Intravenous / complications
  • Substance Abuse, Intravenous / diagnostic imaging*