title: Change in T-lymphocyte count after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients with history of Mycobacterium avium complex infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare changes in CD4+, CD8+ and total lymphocyte counts after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) between HIV-infected patients with and without a recent history of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Matched exposed-non-exposed retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-one patients with a recent history of MAC infection (MAC+) started a combination of at least three antiretroviral drugs. They were individually matched to 145 patients without any history of MAC infection (MAC-) according to CD4+ T-cell count (+/- 30 cells/mm3), previous experience of antiretroviral treatment, AIDS clinical stage at the time of HAART initiation (baseline), age (+/- 10 years) and gender. MAC+ and MAC- patients presented comparable median levels of total lymphocytes (488 vs 688/mm3, P=0.09), CD4+ (11 vs 16/mm3, P=0.15), CD8+ count (359 vs 386/mm3, P=0.39) and plasma HIV RNA (5.3 vs 5.1 log10 copies/ml, P=0.22) at baseline. After 6 months on HAART, the median increase of CD4+ T-cell count was 28 cells/mm3 (interquartile range [IQR]: 1-63) in MAC+ and 72 cells/mm3 (IQR: 34-120) in MAC- patients (P<0.0001), whereas the percentage of CD4+ T cells was not significantly different between the two groups (P=0.13). Comparable differences were observed for total lymphocytes and CD8+ T cells (P<0.001). The 6 months decline of plasma HIV RNA was not significantly different according to MAC exposure (-1.6 in MAC+ vs -1.8 log10 copies/ml in MAC- patients, P=0.65). Results were confirmed after adjustment for other characteristics than the matching variables and after taking into account potential informative bias due to unbalanced number of deaths between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MAC infection at the time of HAART initiation is an important deleterious factor for immune reconstitution. A better understanding of the underlying mechanism and an evaluation of additional treatment strategies are necessary to help immune restoration in such circumstances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Estibaliz
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lazaro
authors.forename: Gaelle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coureau
authors.forename: Jérémie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guedj
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pellegrin
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Commenges
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dabis
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Moreau
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pellegrin
authors.forename: Rodolphe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thiébaut
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D000328:Adult; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015269:Mycobacterium avium Complex; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology