Retinal Microvasculopathy Is Common in HIV/AIDS Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana.

. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ocular disorders in HIV positive patients attending the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana. . A cross-sectional study using systematic random sampling was conducted on 295 HIV positive patients. Data collection consisted of semistructured questionnaires, laboratory investigation, medical profile, and ophthalmic examination. Statistical association tests including , independent -test, and ANOVA were done. A value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. . Of the 295 participants, 205 (69.5%) were on antiretroviral therapy while 90 (30.3%) were not on therapy. Majority of the participants (162, 54.9%) were in clinical stage two, followed by stages three (68, 23.1%), one (62, 21%), and four (3, 1%), respectively. The overall prevalence of ocular disorders was 5.8%. The most common HIV related ocular disorder was HIV retinal microvasculopathy (58.8%), followed by herpes zoster ophthalmicus and retinochoroiditis, both representing 11.8% of ocular disorders seen. Cytomegalovirus retinitis, Bell's palsy, and optic neuritis were the least common (5.9%). CMV retinitis recorded the highest viral load of 1,474,676 copies/mL and mean CD4 count of 136 cells/mm. The mean CD4 count for participants with HIV related ocular disorders was significantly lower compared to participants without disorders ( = 2.5, = 0.012). Participants with ocular disorders also recorded significantly higher mean viral loads than those who did not have ocular disorders ( = 2.8, = 0.006). . Lower CD4 counts and high viral load copies were associated with the manifestation of HIV related ocular disorders.