Significance of the human immunodeficiency virus infection in patients submitted to cardiac surgery

Background To realize if cardiac surgery could interfere with the evolution of HIV infected patients to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Methods. The study group consisted of 30 HIV positive patients (0.21%) amon g 14,785 who underwent cardiac surgery at the Heart Institute of University of Sao Paulo Medical School (Incor-FMUSP) from November 1988 to December 1 994, Patients were followed up until they were discharged from hospital and a new contact was kept at the end of the first semester of 1995, Results. All patients were asymptomatic at the time they were operated, Two patients progressed to death during hospitalization due to non-infectious complications and other three patients could not be traced. After all, 25 p atients had their progression evaluated, Six patients (24%) died within a p eriod ranging from 1 to 46 months (average = 17 months): 2 due to bacterial pneumonia and 04 due to AIDS-related complications, The average followup p eriod for the 19 surviving patients was 33.6 months (ranging from 13 to 74 months), and only one of them (5.3%) saw the infection progress to AIDS, In summary, 5/25 (20%) saw HIV infection progress to AIDS within a maximum pe riod of 74 months. Conclusions. Data available up to now show no conclusive evidence of accele ration of HIV into AIDS associated with cardiac surgery.