title: Tuberculin skin test and CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts in adults infected with the human immunodeficiency virus in Medellín, Colombia.
abstract: To evaluate the effect of BCG vaccination and T lymphocyte subpopulations on the reactivity to the tuberculin skin test, 113 asymptomatic HIV+ individuals were tuberculin tested by intradermal injection of 5TU of purified protein derivative and the levels of circulating lymphocyte (CD3, CD4 and CD8) subpopulations determined by indirect immunofluorescence. Ninety-two percent of the subjects included in the study were males. The mean age of the group was 32.1 +/- 7.4 years. Sixty-two percent presented a BCG scar. However, only 22% exhibited positive tuberculin reactions (> or = 5 mm) irrespective of the presence of the BCG scar. Tuberculin positive individuals exhibited higher CD4+ cell counts (p = 0.004) and CD4+/CD8+ ratios (p = 0.006) than tuberculin negative (< 5 mm) HIV+ individuals. The number of individuals with positive tuberculin reactions was significantly higher in subjects with more than 500 CD4+ lymphocytes/microliter (p = 0.02) or CD4+/CD8+ ratios > or = 1.12 (p = 0.002). These results suggest that a prior BCG vaccination does not influence the reactivity to the tuberculin skin test in HIV+ asymptomatic individuals and that the number of CD4+ lymphocytes and the CD4+/ CD8+ ratio positively correlate with the tuberculin reactivity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Central de Investigaciones, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: París
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Arbeláez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Betancur
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: García
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D014374:Tuberculin Test
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine