Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head is an emerging complication in HIV infected patients. It has been suggested that the increased incidence of AVN in this population may be caused by an increased prevalence of predisposing factors for osteonecrosis, including protease inhibitors, hyperlipidemia, corticosteroid use, alcohol and intravenous drug abuse. The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors for avascular necrosis developing in the femoral head of HIV infected individuals. This study consisted of meta-analysis of the secondary data extracted from current literature. The selected articles allowed two study groups to be drawn up for comparison. Group 1 comprised 324 individuals infected by the HIV virus, who did not present femoral head AVN. Group 2 comprised 32 HIV positive patients, who presented femoral head AVN. The parameters used for analysis were as follows: age, gender, sexual preference, use of intravenous drugs, time of diagnosis, CD4+ cell count, use of antiretroviral agents and duration, serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides. The present study found a statistically significant association between hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, sexual preference and intravenous drug abuse. The authors concluded that femoral head osteonecrosis is associated with hyperlipidemia (hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia) and intravenous drug abuse. This study supports the hypothesis that protease inhibitors play a role in the development of osteonecrosis through a tendency to cause hyperlipidemia.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life in pediatric patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Methods:An analytical cross-sectional study was performed. Pediatric patients suffering from Sickle Cell Disease below the age of 21 were compared with asymptomatic pediatric individuals. Clinical and demographic data were collected along with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL 4.0). Results:The sample was composed of 68 children and adolescents in the "Sickle cell group" and 44 in the "Comparison group". Children and adolescent with SCD had lower scores of health related quality of life compared with healthy subjects in the domains physical (68.3 versus 88.8), social (71.1 versus 90.7), and school functioning (60.2 versus 78.7). The domain emotional functioning was not significantly different (62.1 versus 66.5). Conclusion:The results of the present study demonstrated that children and adolescents with SCD had lower scores of quality of life in the domains activities, social and school functioning when compared to healthy pediatric individuals.

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