| چکیده انگلیسی مقاله |
Lymphocyte CD4 + count, a standard laboratory test for staging of HIV infection, is expensive and unavailable in resource-restricted countries. Total lymphocyte count (TLC) and hemoglobin (Hb) are recommended as simple & inexpensive surrogates. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation, sensitivity and predictive power of these parameters as substitutes for CD 4 count. One hundred HIV patients enrolled in this analytic descriptive study in Ahvaz, a city in the South of Iran, from 2005 to 2006. They were tested for CD 4 count, TLC, Hb, and hematocrit (Hct). The cutoffs were determined as: 200 cells/µL, 1200 cells/µL, 12 g/dl and 30%, respectively. We used Sys Max SE 9500 for CBC and Flow cytometry for CD4 count. The correlation coefficient established correlation between values. Sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values were calculated. 2 females (%2) and 98 males (%98) of the mean age of 32±5 years were studied. 87 cases (%87) were IV drug users, the majority having a history of imprisonment. The mean CD4 count, TLC, Hb and Hct were 279±225, 2102±1250, 10.7±2.4 and 30.4±9.0, respectively. A strong correlation was observed between CD4 count and TLC ( R = 0.645, P = 0.001), but no correlation was seen between CD4 count and Hb or Hct ( R = 0.451, P =0.056 and R = 0.375, P =0.816 respectively). This study shows that TLC is a suitable surrogate marker for CD 4 count. Hb and Hct are of limited value in predicting CD4 counts and should not be substituted for CD4counts. |
