Current practices in laboratory monitoring of HIV infection.

After a diagnosis of HIV infection is made, the patient needs to be monitored using both clinical assessment and laboratory markers. HIV/AIDS monitoring is essential in guiding when to recommend initiation of therapy. Clinical monitoring will include staging of the HIV/AIDS disease using either the presence or absence of HIV-related signs and symptoms using the WHO staging system. Various laboratory methods can be used to monitor the disease progression and to guide whether the patient will need antiretroviral therapy or not. Laboratory monitoring for patients who are not on drugs is done to provide information about the stage of illness; to enable the clinician to make decisions on treatment and to give information on prognosis of the patient. Patients on drugs are monitored to assess their response to treatment with antiretroviral drugs and to detect any possible toxicity and improvement associated with the antiretroviral drugs.

Establecimiento de intervalos de referencia en subpoblaciones linfocitarias por citometría de flujo / Reference values in lymphocyte subpopulations using flow cytometry

La determinación de Subpoblaciones Linfocitarias Humanas (SLH) por Citometría de Flujo, Linfocitos CD3+ (LT), LTCD4+, LTCD8+ y la relación LTCD4+/LTCD8+, permiten monitorear pacientes infectados con virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH), los cuales son comparados con Valores de Referencia (VR). A su vez los VR informados por la bibliografía son variables debido a la falta de validación analítica y partición estadística de los datos de VR, entre otros. En este trabajo, utilizando un ensayo validado (ISO15189), se establecieron VR para SLH con criterios estadísticos de partición en individuos con serología negativa para VIH (397 mujeres (F) y 279 varones (M), edad: 17-83 años). Las SLH fueron medidas en un Citómetro de Flujo (Coulter Epics XL-MCL). Los datos fueron procesados empleando como criterio estadístico de partición el algoritmo de Martin Gellerstedt (AMG). Del análisis estadístico y del AMG se determinó la partición de los datos en 6 subpoblaciones definidas por edad (intervalo de años) y género (F y M): grupos I y IV: 17-35 (F y M); grupos II y V: 36-50 (F y M); y grupos III y VI: >50 años (F y M). Para los 6 grupos se definieron VR de linfocitos totales, LT, LTCD4+, LTCD8+ y LTCD4+/LTCD8+. Para cada límite inferior y superior de VR se estableció el intervalo de confianza al 90%. En conclusión, este estudio permitió establecer VR para SLH en un ensayo validado empleando un criterio estadístico de partición, lo cual permitiría incrementar la confiabilidad de los resultados y uniformar a nivel internacional los VR en SLH en diferentes poblaciones.

The determination of Human Lymphocyte Subpopulations (HLS) including Lymphocytes CD3+ (LT), LTCD4+, LTCD8+ and LTCD4+/LTCD8+ ratio by flow cytometry, makes it possible to monitor patients infected who HIV, which are compared against reference values (RV). However, RV reported by the international bibliography are variable due to the absence of two main factors: analytical validation procedures and partitioning statistical criteria. This study, using a validated method (ISO15189), RV were established for HLS in individuals with negative serology for HIV (397 females (F) and 279 males (M), age: 17-83 years) applying partitioning statistical criteria. The values of HLS were obtained by flow cytometry (Coulter Epics XL-MCL). The data were processed using partitioning statistical criteria based on Martin Gellerstedt's algorithm (MGA). From the statistical analysis and MGA the partition of the data was determined in 6 subpopulations defined by age (interval of years) and gender (F and M): groups I and IV: 17-35 (F and M); groups II and V: 36-50 (F and M); and groups III and VI: >50 years (F and M). Hence, RV of total lymphocytes, LT, LTCD4+, LTCD8+ and LTCD4+/LTCD8+ ratio were defined. For each limit (lower and upper) of reference values, the 90% confidence interval was determined. In conclusion, this study allowed establishing RV for HLS in a validated method using a partitioning statistical criterion, which would allow increasing the assurance results and establishing an international criterion for reference values in HLS in different populations.