Back to Search
Start Over
CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts in HIV infection: are European standards applicable to African patients?
- Source :
-
Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes and human retrovirology : official publication of the International Retrovirology Association [J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol] 1997 Apr 01; Vol. 14 (4), pp. 361-7. - Publication Year :
- 1997
-
Abstract
- CD4+ lymphocyte count (CD4+ LC) is a widely used marker of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) immune impairment. Physiological lymphocytosis is frequently encountered in Africans. Therefore, we tried to determine if given CD4+ LC levels are of similar significance in European versus African HIV-infected individuals. Lymphocyte phenotyping of 750 HIV-infected adults was retrospectively analyzed. Three hundred and seventy patients were consecutively selected in Paris, France; 185 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; and 195 in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. In the three settings, lymphocyte phenotyping was performed by flow cytometry using similar protocols. Data from Abidjan and Bobo-Dioulasso were combined on the basis of geographic proximity and contrasted with those from Paris. Geometric mean levels of Total Lymphocyte Count (TLC), CD4+ LC, CD8+ lymphocyte count (CD8+ LC), and CD4:CD8 ratio, adjusted for percentage of CD4+ T-cells (%CD4+), were compared between Africans and Europeans. For a given %CD4+, TLC and CD4+ LC but not CD8+ LC tended to be about one third higher in West African than in French adults (p < 0.0001). Approximate equivalencies of absolute CD4+ counts in French and West African HIV-infected adults suggest that where thresholds of 200 and 500 CD4+ cells/microliter are applied in Europe, it might be appropriate to apply a threshold of approximately 250 and 700 CD4+ cells/microliter in West Africa, respectively. Establishing indicators of progression of HIV infection with locally appropriate thresholds may represent important steps toward improvement of HIV disease management in Africa.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1077-9450
- Volume :
- 14
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes and human retrovirology : official publication of the International Retrovirology Association
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 9111479
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00042560-199704010-00009