HIV Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about HIV, including details on human immunodeficiency virus, testing, treatment, prevention, vaccines, aids.

Is the CD4 cell percentage a better marker of immunosuppression than the absolute CD4 cell count in HIV-infected patients with cirrhosis?

Bongiovanni M, Gori A, Lepri AC, Antinori A, de Luca A, Pagano G, Chiodera A, Puoti M, Monforte A,

Clinic of Infectious Diseases, San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. marco.bongiovanni@unimi.it

Recently, it was shown that cirrhotic patients without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection had low CD4 cell counts and normal CD4 cell percentages, suggesting that, for HIV-infected persons, the CD4 cell percentage might be a more accurate marker of disease progression than the absolute CD4 cell count. In cirrhotic HIV-infected persons in the Italian Cohort of Antiretroviral-Naive Patients, the absolute CD4 cell count seemed to be better predictor of the risk of developing an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-defining illness than the CD4 cell percentage.

Published 8 August 2007 in Clin Infect Dis, 45(5): 650-3.
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