Association between physical and echographic fat thickness assessments and a lipodystrophy grading scale in lipodystrophic HIV patients: practical implications.

A simple diagnostic method for detecting in clinical routine HAART-associated lipodystrophy in HIV-infected patients is lacking. We studied the relationships between the scores obtained with a subjective lipodystrophy severity grading scale (LSGS) and standard anthropometric and echographic measurements of the subcutaneous and visceral fat thickness of 74 HIV-infected patients. Patients were divided into four groups according to their LSGS score (0, 1-7, 8-14, 15-21).

Perirenal fat diameter measured by echography could be an early predictor of lipodystrophy in HIV type 1-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Echographically measured thicknesses of perirenal and subcutaneous fat, as well as serum metabolic and anthropometric parameters, were evaluated in 74 human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), 22 of whom were HAART-naive at baseline, who were followed-up for 27 months to detect predictive factors of lipodystrophy. Perirenal fat diameter (PRFD) at baseline differed in HAART-naive and HAART-experienced patients (P<.001), and it was the best predictor of lipodystrophy changes after 12 months of follow-up in the HAART-naive patients (hazard ratio, 7.