BACKGROUND Viral load monitoring is not available for the vast majority of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings. However, the practical utility of CD4 cell count measurements as an alternative monitoring strategy has not been rigorously assessed. METHODS In this study, we used a novel modelling approach that accounted for all CD4 cell count and VL values meas...

BACKGROUND CD4(+) T-cell count recovery after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is associated with improved health outcomes. It is unknown how the CD4(+) T-cell counts of African HIV patients recover following ART initiation. METHODS We examined CD4(+) T-cell count recovery in a large cohort of HIV-positive patients initiating ART in Uganda between 2004 and 2011. We categorized patients...

We studied whether the use of T-lymphocyte CD4 (CD4) absolute count instead of CD4 percentage could affect the decision process regarding HAART initiation in African HIV-infected pregnant women. A prospective cohort in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire before HAART was available. Participating women received a perinatal antiretroviral prophylaxis (zidovudine + single-dose of nevirapine). CD4 count and per...

OBJECTIVE To determine the response on treatment-naïve HIV/AIDS patients to the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in terms of CD4 Count and Weight gain over a period of 2 1/2 years. METHODS Patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were recruited under the Federal Government Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) programme at the University of Ilorin Teaching Ho...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the correlation of total lymphocyte count (TLC) and CD4 cell count and the suitability of TLC as a surrogate marker for CD4 cell count of HIV-infected patients in China. METHODS Usefulness of TLC as a surrogate marker for a CD4 cell count <350 cells/mm(3) for HIV-positive patients in China was evaluated by 977 pairs of TLC and CD4 cell count from 977 outpatients. The res...

BACKGROUND Although antiretroviral therapy has the ability to fully restore a normal CD4(+) cell count (>500 cells/mm(3)) in most patients, it is not yet clear whether all patients can achieve normalization of their CD4(+) cell count, in part because no study has followed up patients for >7 years. METHODS Three hundred sixty-six patients from 5 clinical cohorts who maintained a plasma human i...

BACKGROUND Sustained suppression of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 RNA load with the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) results in immunologic improvement, but it is not clear whether the CD4(+) cell count increases to normal levels or whether it reaches a less-than-normal plateau. We characterized the increase in the CD4(+) cell count in patients in clinical pra...