J Med Allied Sci 2016; 6 (2): 68-71 www.jmas.in Print ISSN: 2231 1696 Online ISSN: 2231 170X Journal of Medical & Allied Sciences Original article CD4 lymphocyte response following anti-retroviral therapy in HIV/AIDS patients - A study in Osmania General Hospital Nanyam Srinivasa Rao 1 , Ravala Siddeswari 1 , Budithi Sudarsi 1 , Barla Suryanarayana 1 , Challagali Prabhu Kumar 1 , Thatikala Abhilash 1 1 Upgraded Department of General Medicine, Osmania General Hospital/Medical College, Afzalgunj, Hyderabad-500012, Telangana, India. Article history: Abstract Received 13 January 2016 Revised 25 March 2016 Accepted 22 April 2016 Early online 29 May 2016 Print 31 July 2016 The present study aimed at serial three year assessment of CD4 cell response after initiation of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in patients with HIV/AIDS attending to Osmania General Hospital. It was a retrospec- tive hospital based observational study. Data was collected over a pe- riod of 3 years from 2005 to 2007 in the ART Centre, Department of Medicine, Osmania General Hospital. We included 110 HIV/AIDS who were on ART. Serial monitoring of CD4 count was done and assessed. All patients were on ART as per National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) guidelines. Investigations included complete blood picture, serum creatinine, blood urea, serum electrolytes, liver function tests, sputum for acid fast bacilli, chest radiography, CD4 cell count and if required fine needle aspiration and biopsy, magnetic resonance imag- ing, computerized tomography, colonoscopy were also performed. The result of the present study shows increase in mean CD4 count by 128.78 cells/mm 3 after 6 months of initiation of ART, 24.77 cells/mm 3 after 1 year, 67.53 cells/mm 3 after 2 years and 5.59 cells/mm 3 after 3 years from the base line CD4 cell count. It certainly reveals the im- provement in the CD4 count after ART initiation. Improvement in CD4 count was almost equal in both male and female and in all age groups. Mean CD4 cell count improved by 240.31 cells/mm 3 in females and 220.54 cells/mm 3 in males from the baseline after 3 years of treatment with ART. The present study clearly shows definite improvement in CD4 cell count after ART of more than 100% irrespective of age and sex. Regular intake of drugs will improve immunologic response. Therefore, strict adherence to ART and regular counselling sessions at ART centres should be stressed upon. Corresponding author Nanyam Srinivasa Rao Professor & HOD, Upgraded Department of General Medicine, Osmania General Hospital/Medical College, Afzalgunj, Hyderabad-500012, Telangana, India. Phone: +91-9440235092 Email: drnanyam@yahoo.com Key words: Anti-retroviral therapy, CD4 count, HIV, National Aids Con- trol Organisation DOI: 10.5455/jmas.215189 © 2016 Deccan College of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved. he development of effective anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is one of the most nota- ble achievements in modern medicine. The first cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were reported from Los Angeles in 1981. In the early to mid – 1980s, without any available antiretroviral treatment, the life expectancy of an T 68