Dynamics of CD4 cell count among HIV-infected individuals in Lagos, Nigeria

ABSTRACTHuman Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection leads to progressive loss of CD4 T- cells. Antiretroviral therapy has been able to inhibit this process, resulting in significant level of immune recovery and function. Our aim is to investigate the dynamics of CD4 recovery among HIV patients in Lagos, Nigeria. 213 HIV positive individuals were enrolled between October 2007 and May 2008, and followed up for 9 months based on CD4 count, CD4 analysis was done by flow cytometry at enrolment and after every 3 months. Data was grouped according to age range, antiretroviral treatment (ART), and time between infection and diagnosis. Kaplan Meier Survival analysis was used for data analysis. There was a significant difference in CD4 count between antiretroviral (ART) naive and ART experienced subjects (P < 0.001). About 50% of the ART experienced population was identified to show poor CD4 reconstitution unable to achieve a CD4 of 500 cells/µl after 9 months of therapy. Time interval between infection and therap...