HIV/HTLV-1 coinfection and clinicalgrade at diagnosis

Patients with dual HIV and human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) infections may present with a more serious stage of HIV disease at their first medical examination than patients with HIV infection alone, which may be due to patient age and diagnostic circumstances. Researchers reviewed the medical records of 774 HIV-infected people, 65 of whom were also infected with HTLV-1. Approximately 48% of patients with dual infections presented with HIV symptoms at their first medical examination compared with 26.5% of patients with HIV infection alone. Most patients with dual infections were diagnosed because of HIV symptoms or through screenings at sexually transmitted diseases clinics. The majority of patients with HIV infection alone were diagnosed via screenings for blood donation, pregnancy, marriage or other reasons. Patients with dual infections tended to be older and were more often female than patients with HIV infection alone. Independent of patients' age and diagnostic circumstances, the difference in disease states was insignificant.