This article reports a recent clinical trial conducted on HIV-infected patients which assessed the benefits of early initiation of antiretroviral therapy in HIV patients with high CD4 cell count, but not on neutrophils. Study Background START clinical trial recommended to use anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in HIV- infected patients at any CD4 cell count. Another study in continuation with START trial reported that it also reduces the incidence of bacterial infections and tuberculosis when initiated immediately. Studying the effect of ART on incidents of infections in the HIV patients is necessary because these events are common in people living with HIV.
In the START study, most serious events were occurred in patients with CD4 cell counts above 500 cells/µl. This clinical trial was designed to determine the effects of immediate ART on high CD4 cell count in HIV-infected patients. The…
