title: Clinical significance of positive direct antiglobulin test in patients with HIV infection.
abstract: A direct antiglobulin test (DAT) was performed in 70 patients with anti-HIV antibodies (group A: seropositive patients without or with minimal disease and group B: AIDS patients with or without malignancies). A positive DAT was found in 24 of 70 patients (34%, significantly higher compared to 0.1% in healthy controls) and a higher prevalence of positive DAT was observed in group B than in group A patients (55% versus 21% p < 0.01). When comparing DAT-positive and negative patients within the same clinical group, no significant difference is seen in haemoglobin levels. There is no difference in serum bilirubin, haptoglobin or reticulocyte count between DAT-positive and negative patients altogether or in the same clinical group. AZT therapy seems to exert no significant influence on the onset of a positive DAT. The results confirm a high prevalence of positive DAT in patients with HIV antibodies, mainly in worse clinical conditions, and suggest that a positive DAT might be a prognostic factor in the clinical course of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Servizio Immunotrasfusionale e Analisi Cliniche, I.R.C.C.S. Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Angelis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Biasinutto
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pradella
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vaccher
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spina
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tirelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000743:Anemia, Hemolytic / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003298:Coombs Test; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications*; D006242:Haptoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D017701:Reticulocyte Count; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D006242:Haptoglobins; D006454:Hemoglobins; D001663:Bilirubin