Table 1.

Summary of recent studies on general cognition in HIV-infected children

Study	Participants	Age (range)	Measure	Findings	Antiretroviral therapy
Koekkoek et al. 2008 [26] The Netherlands	22 PHIV+	Median 9.46 years (6–13.5)	SON-R	No gross cognitive deficits compared to normative values	Median age HAART initiation 5.6 years
Smith et al. 2012 USA+Puerto Rico [14]	270 PHIV+/noC 88 PHIV+/C 200 PHEU	7–16 years	WISC-IV	Scores significantly lower for PHIV+/C group afteradjusting for covariates 77.8 vs. 83.4 and 83.3	Median age: first ART 0.6 years; first dual therapy 1.25 years
Blanchette et al. 2002 [27] Canada	14 PHIV+ 11 control siblings	6.3–14 years	WISC-R or WISC-III	Mean FISQ 91.7 vs. 100.5	12 were on ART
Ruel et al. 2011 Uganda [13]	93 PHIV+ 106 HIV−	Median 8.7 years (6–12)	KABC-2	PHIV+ performed worse than HIV- children	All children above WHO threshold for ART initiation
Bagenda 2006 Uganda [12]	28 HIV+ 42 HEU 37 HIV−	6–12 years	KABC	No significant difference	ART-naïve
Wood 2009 USA [25]	81 PHIV+ 38 PHIV+/C 43 PHIV+/noC	Median 15.2 years (11–24)	WISC-IV or WASI	Median FISQ of PHIV+/noC fell within normal range; Median FISQ of HIV+/C in below average range	Median age: ART initiation: 3.1 years; Median age: HAART initiation: 6.5 years
Puthanakit et al. 2010 [11] Thailand	39 HIV + 40 – affected 42 healthy controls	Median 9.3 years (6–12)	WISC-III	Mean FISQ of HIV+ and affected groups significantly lower than healthy controls 79 vs. 88 vs. 96 p<0.01	87% on ART for median of 35 weeks (IQR 29–53)
Puthanakit et al. 2013 [29] Thailand, Cambodia	284 PHIV+, 155 PHEU, 164 PHU	Median age 9 years (1–12)	WISC-Thai	No difference between early and deferred ART initiation RCT arms. PHIV+ children performance worse than PHEU and PHU on IQ	Early versus deferred HAART at enrolment from 1 to 12 years of age
Hoare et al. 2012 South Africa [24]	12 PHIV+ 12 HIV – community controls	8–12 years	WASI: verbal performance	Mean scores: 87.8 vs. 101.2 73.7 vs. 85.7	ART-naïve

PHIV+/C Perinatally HIV-infected with a previous class C event.

PHIV+/noC Perinatally HIV-infected with no past history of class C event.

KABC Kaufman Assessment Battery for children.

KABC-2 Kaufman Assessment Battery for children, 2nd edition.

SON-R Snijders-Oomen nonverbal intelligence test for children and adolescents (abridged).

WASI Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence.

WISC-R Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children –Revised.

WISC-III & IV Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children versions 3, 4. WISC-Thai Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Thai version.