Characteristics of suboptimal immune response after initiating antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV with a pre-treatment CD4 T cell count <200 cells/mm3 in Thailand : Suboptimal Immune Response in PLHIV with low pre-ART CD4 cell count

Background: Complete recovery of the CD4 T cell count is uncommon among chronically HIV-infected individuals with very low pre-treatment CD4 count. We studied the prevalence of chronically immune recovery and its associated factors including immune characteristics chronic HIV-infected Thais. Methods: Treatment-naive participants (n ​= ​375) from the HIV-NAT 006 cohort with a pre-treatment CD4 T cell count after initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) and having achieved a suppressed viremia (HIV-RNA level ​ 200 cells/mm 3 after 3 years of ART which was with a very low pre-ART CD4 T cell count and older age. The long-term clinical outcomes of SIR participants need to be further explored.