The Use of Mini Mental Status Examination For The Diagnosis of HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorder with Special Reference To The Duration of HIV Infection And Antiretroviral Therapy

Abstract

Background: Mini Mental Status Examination can be used as a tool to detect cognitive, motor and behavioural changes seen in HIV associated neurocognitive disorders with special reference to the duration of symptoms and duration of antiretroviral therapy.Aims and objectives: To describe the prevalence of HIV associated neurocognitive impairment by using Mini Mental Score. To correlate the prevalence of HIV associated neurocognitive impairment with the duration of HIV. To assess the effect of antiretroviral drug therapy on neurocognitive decline seen in HIV patients. Material and methods: 100 HIV positive patients visiting the ART outpatient department were included, Mini Mental Status Examination was conducted, the scores were correlated with the duration of symptoms and the duration of antiretroviral therapy.Results and Conclusion: In our study, out of 100 patients, 77.2% of study participants did not have any cognitive impairment (MMSE Score ≥24) while 22.8% of participants had mild cognitive impairment (MMSE Score 18-23). A significant decline in the mini mental status examination score was found as the duration of symptoms. It also declined with the duration of antiretroviral therapy but this could be a confounding factor. A decline in the MMSE scores was also observed with a lag in starting antiretroviral therapy, from the onset of symptoms.