Profile of fungal opportunistic infection in HIV/ AIDS patients: An appraisal at Indian tertiary care

Abstract

AIDS is characterized by a number of opportunistic infections which are responsible for high morbidity and mortality. The spectrum and distribution of opportunistic infection (OIs) in AIDS patients is due to viral, Bacterial, Fungal cytopathology and are secondary to the failure of both cellular and humeral response with CD4 count of <200 mm leads to morbidity and mortality. To document the spectrum of Fungal opportunistic infections in various age groups of HIV/AIDS patients and to note the CD4 counts among the group This is a descriptive study. Clinically and laboratory confirmed fungal cases of opportunistic infections in HIV patients are recorded, during the one year period from June 2017 - May 2018. Blood of these patients processed for CD4 counts, by Partec flow cytometery to assess the immune status among them. Out of 500 HIV seropositive cases, we found 65 of fungal opportunistic infections accounting for 13% of the cases. Majority of opportunistic infections, were in the age group of 31-40 years (37.8%) with predominance of male accounting for 55.2% of the cases. Out of 65 cases, 9.2% had oral candidiasis followed by 1% of vaginal candidaisis with CD4 count <100 mm. In our study, predominant lesion observed was oral candidiasis among all the fungal opportunistic infections. Our study will help in programme management and to plan appropriate strategies for the investigation and treatment of common OIs as a part of management programme for HIV infected populations.