Introduction:

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and drugs taken for this infection are known to cause QTc interval prolongation which in turn can lead to severe arrhythmias. The prevalence and associated factors of prolonged QTc in HIV-positive children in sub- Saharan Africa have not been described.

Objectives:

To compare the mean QTc interval and prevalence of QTc prolongation in HIV-positive children and HIV-negative controls; and to determine the factors associated with prolonged QTc in HIV-positive children.

Methodology:

In a cross-sectional comparative study; the corrected QT intervals (QTc) of 100 HIV-positive children were compared with those of age- and sex-matched HIV-negative healthy controls. QTc 0.46 seconds was regarded as prolonged.

Results:

Subjects were aged 9 months to 14 years. Mean QTc was significantly longer-43.31 (95 CI 43.30; 43.32) seconds in HIV-positive children (62 of whom were on anti-retroviral therapy) compared with controls-41.43 (41.42; 41.44) seconds (P 0.0001). Mean QTc was also significantly longer in subjects receiving zidovudine (ZDV) - [0.46 (0.45; 0.47) versus 0.43 (0.42; 0.44) seconds] - P