title: Changes in lymphocyte subsets in human immunodeficiency virus-positive persons with < 5 CD4 T lymphocytes/mm3.
abstract: All patients seen at the Royal Free Hospital, London, who had at least one CD4 T lymphocyte count of < 5 cells/mm3 (n = 166) were prospectively followed to assess changes in their total T lymphocyte and CD8 T lymphocyte counts over time. While overall there were no clear trends towards a drop or increase in either count, persons who died during the study experienced a rapid drop in both CD8 T lymphocyte and total T lymphocyte levels in the months preceding death. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models revealed that both the total T lymphocyte count and CD8 T lymphocyte count provided important prognostic information for survival. Despite almost a complete absence of CD4 T lymphocytes, lymphocyte subset monitoring is useful in identifying decreasing CD8 T lymphocyte levels that predict short-term prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine, London, United Kingdom. caroline@rfhsm.ac.uk
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Sabin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mocroft
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bofill
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Janossy
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies