Investigating the Effects of Changing the Pattern of AIDS Transmission on the Prevalence of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in the Patients with HIV by Microscopic and Molecular Methods

One of the first and most common causes of death in HIV-positive patients is tuberculosis (TB). Due to immunodeficiency and reduced CD4+ cell count in the people with HIV/AIDS, they are susceptible to other infections such as tuberculosis. Although increased access to antiretroviral therapy has led to reductions in HIV-related opportunistic infections and mortality, concurrent management of HIV/TB infection remains a challenge for treating these patients due to side effects, complex drug interactions, and overlapping toxicities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of tuberculosis prevalence in the HIV patients.

This descriptive study was conducted on the records of 100 patients with AIDS infection who had been on antiretroviral therapy for more than 6 months. First, in order to evaluate the simultaneous infection of AIDS and tuberculosis, microscopic examination of patients' sputum samples was performed at three time points. Then, the patients' blood samples were analyzed to count CD4+ cells and viral load by real-time PCR molecular method. The statistical analysis of the obtained results was done by ANOVA and homogeneity of variance using SPSS software and drawing figures was done by R and Excel softwares.

The prevalence rate of tuberculosis infection in HIV patients in the target population was reported as 2%. The gender of both patients with HIV/TB co-infection was female, and their average age was 47 years old. Both of them were unemployed, separated from their spouse, and with education level below diploma. The method of transmission of AIDS disease to both of them was drug use. The amount of CD4 and viral load in both patients had a significant inverse relationship (p<0.01). According to the data of this study, the main method of transmission of AIDS disease was sexual intercourse (52%) and among young people.

Based on the findings of this study, it seems that the co-infection of AIDS and tuberculosis has decreased in the target community, which is confirmed by international experiences. This reduction may be related to the change in the pattern of disease transmission from drug use (16%) to sexual intercourse (52%). In order to generalize the results of this study to the entire statistical population of patients in the country, a wider investigation is needed.