• Bongani Brian Nkambule, Zibusiso Mkandla, Tinashe Mutize, and Phiwayinkosi Vusi Dludla.
• School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
• BMJ Open. 2017 Dec 19; 7 (12): e019468.

IntroductionThe incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is now at least threefold higher in HIV-infected patients as compared with the general population. Although platelet activation and reactivity are implicated in the development of CVDs in HIV-infected patients, its precise role remains inconclusive. We aim to assess the association between platelet activation and selected cardiovascular risk factors in HIV-1-infected individuals on highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART).MethodsThis will be a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies evaluating the association between platelet activation and CVD risk factors in HAART-treated adults. The search strategy will include medical subject headings words for MEDLINE, and this will be adapted to Embase search headings (Emtree) terms for the EMBASE database. The search will cover literature published between 1 January 1996 to 30 April 2017. Studies will be independently screened by two reviewers using predefined criteria. Relevant eligible full texts will be screened; data will be extracted, and a qualitative synthesis will be conducted. Data extraction will be performed using Review Manager V.5.3. To assess the quality and strengths of evidence across selected studies, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation approach will be used. The Cochran's Q statistic and the I2 statistics will be used to analyse statistical heterogeneity between studies. If included studies show high levels of homogeneity, a random effects meta-analysis will be performed using R statistical software.Ethics And DisseminationThis will be a review of existing studies and will not require ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and presented at local and international conferences. An emerging patient management dilemma is that of the increased incidence of CVD in people living with HIV on HAART. This review may inform treatment and cardiovascular risk stratification of HIV-infected patients at increased risk of developing CVD.Prospero Registration NumberCRD42017062393.© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

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