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...

Patients with a reduction in the number of CD4 lymphocytes and functions are prone to bacterial and viral infection. Stress can induce a decrease in CD4 lymphocytes, but the naïve lymphocyte increases after stress management. To evaluate the influence of meditation on the T lymphocyte subpopulation, EDTA blood from 31 monks who meditated and 32 who did not were collected and stained. T lymphocy...

BACKGROUND The absolute neutrophil count (ANC) is currently used to assess immune status of patients on cytotoxic therapy. The CD4 lymphocytes have also been shown to be of importance in protection against opportunistic infections. In people of African descent a low baseline ANC has been recorded and the currently accepted neutropaenic threshold may not be appropriate. OBJECTIVE This study wa...

OBJECTIVE To analyze total lymphocyte count, total leukocyte count, hemoglobin levels, nutritional status, CD4+ T-lymphocyte count and viral load as markers of disease progression and/or death in HIV-infected children. METHODS This retrospective cohort study assessed antiretroviral naïve HIV-infected children who were asymptomatic or had mild and/or moderate symptoms. The events of interest w...

Objective. To assess the radiographic features in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), and the association with CD4 lymphocyte count and sputum smear. Method. A prospective study was carried out on 89 HIV positive patients with PTB. The demographics, smoking history, sputum smear result, chest radiographic findings and CD4 lymphocyte coun...

Globally, tuberculosis-HIV co-infections are on the increase. In 2007, 15% (1.37 million) of the tuberculosis cases were HIV-positive tuberculosis (TB). This cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2009 to assess the effect of the level of CD4 lymphocyte counts on the development of smear positive pulmonary TB (PTB) among HIV patients before and after initiation of highly active antiret...

BACKGROUND CD4 count is a standard measure of immunodeficiency in adults infected with HIV to initiate and monitor highly active antiretroviral therapy; however, it may not be feasible in resource poor countries. There is a need to have another marker of immunodeficiency that is less resource demanding. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between total lymphoc...

A 76-year-old man, who was in the hospital for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and was receiving gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist treatment for prostate cancer, developed fever and hypoxemia. Imaging revealed diffuse interstitial shadows, and PCR of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was positive for Pneumocystis jirovecii. The patient's absolute CD4-positive lymphocyte cou...

BACKGROUND CD4 testing is the recognized gold standard used to stage HIV/AIDS, guide treatment decisions for HIV-infected persons and evaluate effectiveness of therapy. The need for a less expensive surrogate marker that can be used in resource-limited setting is however necessary. The study sought to assess the suitability of Total lymphocyte count (TLC) as a surrogate marker for CD4 count in ...