title: Oral candidosis as a clinical marker of immune failure in patients with HIV/AIDS on HAART.
abstract: Oral candidosis (OC) has been proposed as a clinical marker of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) success or failure. The principal objective of this work was to assess whether the presence OC is associated with immunologic or virologic failure in patients with HIV/AIDS undergoing HAART. One hundred fifty-one patients with HIV/AIDS from Regional Hospital "Carlos Haya," Malaga, Spain, were examined orally. All patients had been undergoing HAART for a minimum of 6 months prior to oral examination. OC diagnosis was in accordance with World Health Organization-Centers for Disease Control (WHO-CDC) criteria. Age, gender, route of HIV infection, CD4 lymphocyte counts, and viral load were taken from the medical records. In regard to HAART response the patients were classified as: virologic- responders (viral load < 50 copies per milliliter), virologic nonresponders (viral load >50 copies per milliliter); immunologic responders (CD4 cells counts > 500 per milliliter), and immunologic nonresponders (CD4 cells counts < 500 per milliliter). Prevalence of OC was determined for each group. The presence of OC was closely related to immune failure (p 0.006; odds ratio [OR] 3.38 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.262-12.046) in patients with HIV/AIDS undergoing HAART. The probability of immune failure in the presence of OC was 91% for men who have sex with men, 95.5% for heterosexuals, and 96% for intravenous drug users. In conclusion, OC should be considered a clinical marker of immune failure in patients with HIV/AIDS undergoing HAART.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Pathology Department, Postgraduate and Research Division, Dental School, National Autonomous University of Mexico, México City, México. lgaitan@servidor.unam.mx
authors.forename: Luis Alberto
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Gaitán-Cepeda
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martínez-González
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ceballos-Salobreña
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D017733:Leukoplakia, Hairy / Q000209:etiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D017211:Treatment Failure; D019562:Viral Load