A study of opportunistic infections in people living with HIV

Abstract

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) virus, causative agent in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is fast becoming a major threat in the Indian subcontinent, with an estimated 3.7 million persons being infected with HIV. HIV infection is complicated by various opportunistic infections (OIs) such as tuberculosis (TB), candidiasis, herpes zoster, Pneumocystis jirvoceii, and cytomegalovirus (CMV). This study carried out to know the clinical profile of HIV patients with OIs. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was (i) to assess the pattern of OIs in HIV infected patients visiting ART Centre of Sir T Hospital; (ii) to estimate the proportions of various OIs among HIV infected patients; and (iii) to assess the frequency distribution of OIs with different CD4 counts categories. Materials and Methods: A case series study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. A hospital based case series study was conducted after taking permission from ethical committee among 400 HIV patients with OIs Government Medical College and Sir T General Hospital, Bhavnagar during January 2021–September 2021. Data were collected to gather information on clinical profile. The statistical tests used were descriptive statistics and independent t-test. Results: Among 400 patients, 26% were females and 74% males. High proportions of patients were observed in 30–39 years of age group and heterosexual route was the most common mode of transmission. TB (51.25%) is the most frequent OI followed by candidiasis (49%), pneumocystis (8.75%) and others. The mean CD4 cell count in TB was 206.78 cells/mm3 and in candidiasis 205.73 cells/mm3. Low values were observed in promyelocytic leukemia 45 cells/mm3, CMV 90 cells/mm3 and in toxoplasmosis 80.5 cells/mm3. Conclusions: Respiratory system was the most common system involved by OIs and most of patients with OIs had CD4 T cell count below 200 cells/mm3, whereas there were no patients in the study with counts above 500 cells/mm3.