A HOSPITAL BASED STUDY ON OPPORTUNISTIC PULMONARY INFECTIONS IN HUMAN IMMUODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) POSITIVE PATIENT IN RELATION TO CD4 COUNT AND ITS THERAPEUTIC OUTCOME

Abstract

Introduction: Pulmonary disease is one of the frequent complications of HIV infection. This study is carried to identify the opportunistic pathogens associated with pulmonary infection in HIV patients, To study association of various symptoms in HIV patients with opportunistic pulmonary infection, To study clinical findings associated with pulmonary opportunistic infection in HIV patients, To study radiological (chest X-ray) findings associated with opportunistic pulmonary infections in HIV patients and to study the association between the opportunistic pulmo- nary infection in HIV patients and CD4 cell counts.

Methods: Study was conducted in those patients admitted in the Department of Medicine and patients attending ART centre, RIMS, Ranchi, satisfying following criteria- Elisa positive for HIV with sign, symptom and investiga- tion supporting the patients, categorization as AIDS, Patients who were more than 14 years of age. Both sexes were included.

Results: out of 100 patient of HIV , that majority of patients with pulmonary infection belongs to age group 21-40 years which is about 43/64 (67.1%), of which 39 were male and 4 were female.The prominent symptom were cough 31 (48.43%), fever 26 (32.81%), dyspnea 22(34.37%), and the most common OPI is tuberculosis which is common in CD4 count <400 and it comprises 45.3%.

Conclusions: Opportunistic pulmonary infection is common in HIV patients especially with low CD4 counts. The present study design prospectively identifies the spectrum of pathogen causing Opportunistic pulmonary infections in HIV patients with relation to CD4 count, their clinical features and various radiological features associated with them and their therapeutic outcome.