Effect of Antiretroviral Drugs on Cd4 Cells and Viral Load in HIV Patients Attending Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital, Nakuru, Kenya

Abstract

CD4 count and viral load are part of laboratory data, which give guidelines on commencement and subsequent monitoring of chemotherapy. Among the primary goals of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) are optimal and durable suppression of viral load and the preservation and /or restoration of immunologic function. The objective of the current study was to assess the virological and immunological responses of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) -infected individuals with administration of ART and establish the relationship between CD4 count and viral load in the study population, assessing the effect of chemotherapy. The study was conducted on 80 individuals who attended the Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) centre in the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital, Nakuru, and who consented to the study. Parallel testing for HIV was performed using Determine and Uni-Gold HIV ½ test kits, and discordant results were confirmed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). CD3, CD4 and CD8 counts were determined using Beckton Dickson (BD) FACScount while viral loads measured using Exavir load kit prior to commencement of ART regimens. Virologic and immunologic responses were determined by measuring CD4 counts and viral load at two weeks following commencement of chemotherapy and monthly for three months thereafter. Viral loads and CD4 counts for the study population were found to be highly inversely correlated (r=0.948, p<0.001).

Key words: Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Viral loads, CD4 counts, antiretroviral therapy