The prevalence of Tuberculosis in HIV patients and their correlation with CD4+ count in a tertiary care hospital in Rishikesh, gateway to the Himalayas

Introduction

Tuberculosis is the most common serious opportunistic infection in HIV-positive patients. TB can occur at any time during the course of HIV infection. The estimated number of people living with HIV in India in 2019 was 23.48 lakh. With an estimated 2.5 million cases, or 195 cases per 1 lakh people, India has the highest incidence of tuberculosis cases worldwide, accounting for about 23% of all cases, according to MOHFW India. Information about HIV/TB co-infection is still scarce in India, especially in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand.

Material and methods

In this retrospective study, subjects are the patients who are diagnosed with MTB in HIV-positive patients of all age groups and sex and were followed up from January 2021 till August 2022 in a tertiary referral hospital AIIMS Rishikesh.

Diagnosis of MTB was based on clinical, laboratory, and neuroimaging signs, and HIV was based on dot blot, immunochromatographic, and chemiluminescence assay.

Result

A total of 520 patients screened for HIV were positive. Out of which 145 were MTB in which 133 had pulmonary tuberculosis and 12 had extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. The patients' average age was 35.5 years. Among males, females and transgender, 97 (66.89%), 46 (31.72%) and 2 (1.38%) have both TB and HIV co-infections respectively.

Mean CD4 count prior to ATT was 350.21, After completion was 486.48. The prevalence of Tuberculosis among HIV positive cases was 23.8%.Baseline and latest CD4 count was conducted before and after ART and ATT treatment. It was observed that there was significant increase in the CD4 count after treatment.

Conclusion

HIV co-infection with TB is higher in this region. There is a role of CD4⁺ count in the prognosis and progression of the disease. More strategic measures are required for early diagnosis and treatment of HIV to combat MTB.