The use of corticosteroids does not influence CD4⁺ lymphocyte recovery in HIV-infected patients with advanced immunodeficiency

Figures & data

Table 1. Baseline characteristics.

	Adjunctive corticosteroids (n = 38)	Standard care (n = 28)	P-value
Gender [n (%) male]	31 (81.6)	24 (85.7)	.75
Route of HIV transmission [n (%)]
MSM	17 (44.7)	16 (57.1)	.45
Heterosexual	15 (18.4)	7 (7.6)
Other	2 (5.3)	1 (3.6)
ICU admission [n (%)]	10 (26.3)	1 (3.6)	.02
Concurrent AIDS-defining condition [n (%)]	9 (23.7)	5 (17.9)	.76
CD4^+ cells/mm^3 [Mean (SD)]	47.0 (42.8)	59.5 (59.2)	.35
Age [Mean (SD) years]	44.1 (11.7)	42.5 (8.6)	.51
Antimicrobial therapy for PJP [n (%)]
Only TMP/SMX	29 (76.3)	19 (67.9)	.38
TMP/SMX followed by Pentamidine	8 (21.5)	8 (28.5)
Other	1 (2.6)	1 (3.6)
Time of HIV diagnosis [n (%)]
Prior to PJP diagnosis	2 (5.3)	2 (7.4)	.75
At the time of PJP diagnosis	36 (94.7)	26 (92.6)
cART backbone in first year [n (%)]
Protease inhibitor	16 (42.1)	20 (71.4)	.09
NNRTI	20 (52.6)	6 (21.4)
Integrase strand inhibitor	1 (2.6)	1 (3.6)
Other	1 (2.6)	1 (3.6)
Time period of PJP episode [n (%)]
1996–2002	4 (10.5)	5 (17.9)	.74
2003–2007	12 (31.6)	6 (21.4)
2008–2017	22 (57.9)	17 (60.7)

Note: cART, combination antiretroviral therapy; ICU, intensive care unit; MSM, men who have sex with men; NNRTI, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor; SD, standard deviation; PJP, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia; TMP/SMX, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazol.

Figure 1. Mean CD4⁺ cell counts over the time after initation of antiretroviral therapy.