title: Mantoux reaction in patients with HIV-related pulmonary tuberculosis in Maiduguri, Nigeria.
abstract: Tuberculin skin testing is used for the identification of individuals with infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other non-tuberculous mycobacteria. However, its value in immunosuppressed individuals due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is controversial. This study was aimed at determining the relationship between Mantoux reaction and CD4+ cell counts; and whether the test can be used to predict CD4+ counts in patients dually infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and M. tuberculosis. Eighty patients, comprising 42 males (52.5%) and 38 females (47.5%) confirmed to be having antibodies to HIV who also had sputum smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis were recruited over a period of 16 months. They were Mantoux-tested with 0.1 ml of 5TU of PPD which was interpreted thus: <5 mm = negative, =5 mm = positive. CD4+ counts were determined using Dynabeads technique. The ages of all the patients ranged between 18 and 55 years (mean +/- SD: 33.9+/-8.42 years). The males had a mean age of 35.4 +/- 7.7 years while that of the females was 29.6+/-53 years (P<0.05). The CD4+ counts ranged between 73 and 512 cells/microl with a mean of 235.05 +/- 112.8 cells/microl. Fifty seven (71%) patients had negative PPD tests while 23 (29%) tested positive. Of the 37 with CD4+ counts <200 cells/microl, 32 (86.48%) had negative reaction (<5 mm) and 5 (13.51%) were positive (=5 mm) as compared to those with CD4 counts =200 cells/microl, among whom 25 (58.13%) were negative and 18 (41.86%) were positive (P<0.05). The positive predictive value was low at 56.14%. The difference in mean indurations between those with CD4+ count <200 cells/microl versus those with CD4+ count =200 cells/microl was statistically significant (P<0.05). On the whole, Mantoux indurations were noted to weakly correlate positively with CD4+ counts (Pearson's correlation, r=+0.36, P=0.001. It was concluded that there is a weak positive correlation between Mantoux reaction and CD4+ cell counts and that the Mantoux test is a poor predictor of CD4+ cell count.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. harunayusuph@hotmail.com
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yusuph
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Garbati
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gashau
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009549:Nigeria; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology