Brief Report: The Effect of Antiretroviral Therapy and CD4 Count on Markers of Infectiousness in HIV-Associated Tuberculosis.

van Halsema, Clare L; Fielding, Katherine L; Chihota, Violet N; George, Elizabeth C; Lewis, James J; Churchyard, Gavin J; Grant, Alison D; (2015) Brief Report: The Effect of Antiretroviral Therapy and CD4 Count on Markers of Infectiousness in HIV-Associated Tuberculosis. Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999), 70 (1). pp. 104-108. ISSN 1525-4135 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000000684

Abstract

Clinical features of tuberculosis influence infectiousness. This cross-sectional study examined the effect of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and CD4 on sputum smear-positivity (SS+) and pulmonary cavitation among 1589 (1185/1589 HIV-positive) miners in South Africa. Proportions SS+ varied nonlinearly by CD4 with greatest proportions SS+ (55.3%) in the lowest stratum (<100 cells/μL). Adjusted prevalence ratio for SS+; on vs. off cART was 0.90 (95% confidence interval: 0.73 to 1.11). Proportions with cavitation varied linearly with CD4, with no independent cART effect (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.17; 95% confidence interval: 0.80 to 1.71). cART did not independently affect SS+ or cavitation but may increase infectiousness through CD4 recovery.

Additional Information

Item Type	Article
Faculty and Department	Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health > Dept of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases > Dept of Clinical Research
Research Centre	TB Centre
PubMed ID	26322671