Author(s)

Ihou Nazoba Majesté Wateba, Akouda Akessiwe Patassi, Abago Balaka, Ousséni Tidjani

Service de Maladies Infectieuses et de Pneumologie, CHU Sylvanus Olympio, Lomé, Togo.

Objective: To evaluate the virological status of ineligible HIV patients for anti-retroviral therapy based on the criterion of CD4+ T lymphocytes rate over than 350/μl of blood. Method: This is a prospective study which was conducted from November 2011 to July 2012 in the tropical and infectious disease department of CHU Sylvanus Olympio of Lomé. All HIV-1 infected patients whose CD4+ T lymphocytes rate was ≥350/μl of blood were retained. The count of CD4+ T lymphocytes was made by cytometer FACSCalibur^? flow of BD biosciences and the determination of viral load was achieved by NASBA laboratory method of Biomérieux. Results: We have recruited 102 PLWHA aged between 19 and 58 years with a median of 35 years. Biologically, 102 patients had a T-CD4 rate between 355 and 432/μl of blood. The determination of viral load showed a very high viral replication more than 10,000 copies/ml among all patients and 28 (27.5%) patients had a viral load > 100,000 copies/ml of blood. Conclusion: Our results argue for a reconsideration of the criteria for starting antiretroviral therapy in Togo by including virological data if necessary in patients with T-CD4 rate below 500/μl of blood.

Viral Load; CD4+ T Lymphocytes; Naive Anti-Retroviral Therapy Patients

I. Wateba, A. Patassi, A. Balaka and O. Tidjani, "Viral Characteristic of HIV Infected Patients Naïf of Anti-Retroviral Therapy with CD4+ T Lymphocytes Rate Greater than 350 per Microliter of Blood in Lomé Togo," World Journal of AIDS, Vol. 3 No. 4, 2013, pp. 364-366. doi: 10.4236/wja.2013.34047.