ArticleTuberculosis

CD4 deficit and tuberculosis risk persist with delayed antiretroviral therapy: 5-year data from CIPRA HT-001

Collins SE, Jean Juste MA, Koenig SP, Secours R, Ocheretina O, Bernard D2, Riviere C, Calnan M, Dunning A, Hurtado Rúa SM, Johnson WD Jr, Pape JW, Fitzgerald DW, Severe P

Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2015 Jan;19(1):50-7

Abstract

Objective: To determine long-term effects of early vs. delayed initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on immune recovery and tuberculosis (TB) risk in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected individuals.
Design: Open-label randomized controlled trial of immediate ART in HIV-infected adults with CD4 counts between 200 and 350 cells/mm(3) vs. deferring ART until the CD4 count was
Results: A total of 816 participants were enrolled, with 408 in each treatment arm. The early treatment group started ART within 2 weeks, while the deferred treatment group started ART a median of 1.3 years after enrollment. After 5 years, the mean CD4 count in the early treatment group was significantly higher than in the deferred treatment group (496 cells/mm(3), 95% confidence interval [CI] 477-515 vs. 373 cells/mm(3), 95%CI 357-389; P < 0.0001). TB risk was higher in the deferred treatment group (unadjusted HR 2.41, 95%CI 1.56-3.74; P < 0.0001) and strongly correlated with lower CD4 counts in time-dependent multivariate analysis.
Conclusion: Delays in ART initiation for HIV-infected adults with CD4 counts of 200-350 cells/mm(3) can result in long-term immune dysfunction and persistent increased risk for TB

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