Predictors for tuberculosis co-infection in people living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Background/aim: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most common chronic infectious conditions causing mortality and se- vere outcomes, particularly in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of TB among PLWHA. Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective and single-center study of adults (≥18 years) PLWHA registered at our tertiary teaching and research hospital between 2000 and 2016. Results: A total of 711 PLWHA were included. Of whom, 633 (89.0%) were male. Mean age was 36.53 ±11.55 years (range, 17-79). Thirty-eight (5.3%) patients were diagnosed with active TB. TB development was associated with low CD4+ lymphocyte count (p<0.001), high viral load (p=0.040) and alcohol consumption (p=0.004) but no association with age (p=0.392), gender (p=0.928) and duration since anti-retroviral therapy initiation (p=0.788) was found. Also, a receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the area under the curves of CD4+ lymphocyte count as a predictor for TB development in PLWHA was 0.717 (p<0.001). Conclusion: There are still clinical challenges to predict TB diagnosis. However, CD4+ lymphocyte count and viral load may be considered as valuable predictors for TB development. Also, community strategies to reduce harmful effect of alco- hol use should be developed. Keywords: Tuberculosis; HIV viral load; CD4 cell counts.