[Sputum smear conversion during intensive TB treatment phase according to HIV status, in hospitalised patients in...

We prospectively studied patients with pulmonary TB, with or without HIV-1 co-infection, from December 1, 2007 to December 1, 2008. Two groups of patients naive for TB and antiretroviral treatment (group A: 96 co-infected TB/HIV and group B: 171 TB infected but HIV negative) were selected randomly. The CD4 count was assessed according to HIV status, and all patients received RHEZ TB treatment for 2 months. Pulmonary smear was assessed at two weeks, four weeks, six weeks, and eight weeks.

Two hundred and sixty seven patients were treated (26.6% of admissions). The mean age was 34.62 ± 11 years and the sex ratio was 1.3. A proportion of 35.75% patients were HIV co-infected with a median CD4 count at 157 cells per millimeter cube. The sputum smear conversion was obtained for more than 87.5% of patients in group A and 24.56% in group B at two weeks; 94% of patients in group A and 61.83% in group B at four weeks; 100% of patients in group A and 87.33% in group B at six weeks, and 100% of patients in group A and 96.77% in group B at eight weeks. P<0.05 at six weeks.

HIV infected TB patients were more susceptible to treatment than TB/HIV infected patients in the first six weeks.