HIV-1 infection in patients with tuberculosis in Buenos Aires, Argentina

WEISSENBACHER M; DE SALVO C; PANDO MA; FEOLA M; LADO I; MONTANO S; SANCHEZ J; AVILA MM

La Habana

Otro; Foro en VIH/SIDA/ITS de América Latina y el Caribe.; 2003

Introduction: The risk of infecting with tuberculosis (Tb) has significantly increased in HIV-infected people. Mortality rate in HIV-positive patients coinfected with Tb seemed to be much higher than in non-HIV-infected individuals. Mortality rate in HIV-positive patients with Tb was 14.2/100,000 inhabitants as compared to 1.7/100,000 in seronegative persons in Buenos Aires city in 1999. Objectives: The present study aimed to determining the HIV seroprevalence in Tb patients from 3 hospitals of Buenos Aires City. Methods: Tb patients were surveyed between July and December 2001. Informed consent was signed and a questionnaire exploring socio-epidemiologic data to assess risk factors potentially associated with HIV transmission was collected. A blood sample was obtained for HIV diagnosis. Appropriate specimens were also collected for mycobacterial diagnosis. Results: A total of 208 patients were included in the study. Thirty-five (16.8%) tested HIV-infected. HIV prevalence in men was found to be significantly higher than in women (21.0 % vs 8.4%, p<0.01). The majority of patients (62%) were originally from Argentina while 38% were from neighbor countries, mainly Peru and Bolivia. It was observed that Argentines had a significantly higher HIV prevalence than people from neighbor countries (24.8% vs. 3.8%, p<0.001). HIV prevalence was also found to be higher in patients with tattoos (12 of 37, 32.4%, p<0.004), in patients with IDU background (IDU, 16 of 18, 88.9%, p<0.001) in those who had an IDU partner (5 of 9, 55.6%, p<0.001), in individuals who had been in prison (11 of 21, 52.4%, p<0.001), in individuals who had an HIV-positive partner (14 of 19, 73.7%, p<0.001) and those who had gone through an episode of sexually transmitted disease (STD, 13 of 41, 31.7%, p<0.007). Conclusion: Prevalence of HIV infection in patients with tuberculosis was high (16.8%). Data analyses showed that the main risk of contracting HIV infection were associated with the injecting-drug practices, having an HIV-positive partner or having been in prison.