Characteristics of treatment-naïve human immunodeficiency virus type 1 seropositive individuals with undetectable plasma viral load

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Undetectable plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) viral load means the virus load is lower than the detection limit of the assay used, but it does not imply the absence or clearance of the virus from the blood. This study was undertaken to analyze the various characteristics of HIV-1 seropositive antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive individuals with undetectable plasma viral load (PVL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 82 treatment-naive individuals in a tertiary care teaching institute in Northeast India, from October 2014 to September 2016. PVL was determined by COBAS® TaqMan® HIV-1 test version 2.0, and CD4+ T-lymphocytes' count (CD4 count) was estimated by Fluorescent-Activated Cell Sorter Count™ System. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 16.0 was used for all statistical analyses. Variables were expressed as median, interquartile range, and percentage. P RESULTS: PVL was not detectable in 8.5% of ART-naive individuals whose data contributed to these analyses. All the participants were clinically asymptomatic (100%), educated (100%) and majority of them were married (71.4%), and unemployed (85.7%). The CD4 counts ranged from 453 to 1225 cells/μL, with a median CD4 count of 706 cells/μL. The median CD4 count was 776 cells/μL and 671 cells/μL in the males and females, respectively (P = 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: ART-naive HIV-1 seropositive individuals with undetectable PVL have a normal CD4 count and no significant gender difference in the median CD4 count.