Affiliations: Department of Child Health, University of Ghana
Medical School, Accra, Ghana | Department of Biostatistics, Harvard University,
Boston, MA, USA | Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ghana
Medical School, Accra, Ghana | Miriam Hospital and Warren Alpert Medical School of
Brown University, Providence, RI, USA | Department of Pediatrics and Pharmacology, Yale
University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Elijah Paintsil, Departments of Pediatrics
and Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New
Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. Tel.: +1 203 785 7119; Fax: +1 203 785 6961;
E-mail: elijah.paintsil@yale.edu
Abstract: Percentage CD4+ T-lymphocyte is used for immunologic monitoring
human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infections in children. Given the relative
ease of obtaining absolute CD4+ T-lymphocyte, we sought to investigate whether
the predictors of the trends in absolute and percentage CD4+ T-lymphocytes in
HIV-infected children in resource-limited setting were similar. A retrospective
analysis of CD4+ T-lymphocytes data from June, 2004 to December, 2007 of the
Pediatric HIV cohort at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Mixed models
were used to examine predictors of the trends in absolute and percentage CD4+
T-lymphocytes. Absolute and percentage CD4+ T-lymphocytes increased over time
(p < 0.001). Baseline absolute and percentage values
correlated with subsequent values (p < 0.001). Gender, age,
treatment, World Health Organization clinical staging, and the source of
patient referral to the clinic did not predict the changes in CD4+
T-lymphocytes. The predictors of the trends in absolute and percentage CD4+
T-lymphocytes were similar. Studies are needed to examine whether absolute CD4+
T-lymphocyte counts could be used to monitor pediatric HIV in resource-limited settings.
Keywords: HIV disease progression, CD4+ T-lymphocytes, HIV viral load, pediatrics, resource-limited settings
