title: Hematological particularities and co-infections in injected drug users with AIDS.
abstract: HIV patients infected through injected drug use have poorer prognosis than other groups. We evaluated the hematological alterations and rates of co-infections in injected drug use patients with AIDS. Injected drug use patients were younger, predominantly of male gender, and presented lower CD4, total lymphocyte, and platelet counts, but not neutrophil count, than control group. Injected drug use patients had a higher rate of hepatitis C and mycobacteria infection. Furthermore, all injected drug use patients with hemoglobin <10.0 g dL(-1) and lymphocyte <1000μL(-1) had CD4 count lower than 100μL(-1). In conclusion, HIV-infected injected drug use patients constitute a special group of patients, and hemoglobin concentration and lymphocyte count can be used as surrogate markers for disease severity.
authors.affiliation: Center for Cell Based Therapy, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: dbrunetta@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Denise Menezes
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Brunetta
authors.forename: Gil Cunha
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: De Santis
authors.forename: Fernando Crivelenti
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Vilar
authors.forename: Renata Amorim
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.forename: Renata Zomer de Albernaz
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Muniz
authors.forename: Geovana Momo Nogueira de
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Manuela Emiliana
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Amorelli-Chacel
authors.forename: Dimas Tadeu
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Covas
authors.forename: Alcyone Artioli
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Machado
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D060085:Coinfection / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: AIDS; Anemia; HCV; Injected drug use; Mycobacteria