Spectrums of opportunistic infections in HIV-infected patients at tertiary care hospital

Background: Literature on the spectrum of opportunistic disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients from developing countries is sparse. HIV-related opportunistic infections (OIs) continued to cause morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected individuals. Objectives: The objective for this study was to elucidate the prevalence and spectrums of OIs in HIV-infected patients in the Gandhinagar Civil Hospital. Material and methods: The evaluation of the prevalence and spectrums of OIs was conducted by using the clinical data of 834 HIV-infected patients in the Gandhinagar Civil hospital from November 2012 to December 2013 those who were attended physician OPD for OIs. Results: The prevalence and spectrums of OIs varied contingent on sex, age, CD4 levels and treatment with ART. We found that tuberculosis was most common OI with prevalence being 20.50%, followed by Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) (5.16%) mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) (1.80%), candidiasis (1.56%), cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (0.24%), progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) (0.12%). Males (31.85%) were more prone to get OIs than females (27.85%). Pulmonary OI infections were the most prevalent morbidity and mortality in patients in the AIDS stage including pulmonary tuberculosis (7.43%) and PCP (5.16%). Fungal OIs were one of most prevalent morbidity in patients in the AIDS stage, including oral candidiasis (1.79). EPTB (13.07%) was more common than PTB (7.43%). OI in AIDS is more common in 41 to 60 years (32.93%) of age group. OI was more common in patients with CD4 count from 51-100 (86.96%) followed by 101 to 150 (69.05%). OI was more common in patients who were not on ART (72.33%) than those on ART (27.67%). Conclusion: The prevalence and spectrums of OIs, was discussed in this study. It would help to increase the awareness for physicians to make a diagnosis and empirical treatment sooner and plan good management strategies, especially in resource limited regions.