Study of Serum Albumin Level in Subjects with HIV Infection, in Relation to CD 4 Count, as a Marker of Immune Suppression

ABSTRACT

Introduction: HIV/AIDS Infection is one of the commonlyencountered illness in our setup. It causes morbidity andmortality worldwide, and the number of HIV-infected patientshas increased dramatically in the past decade. Current studyaimed to record serum albumin level in patients suffering fromHIV infection.Material and methods: A total of 175 subjects were studiedover a period of 3 months. History and examination weredone according to the proforma after taking written informedconsent. Routine investigations included CD 4 Count andLFT. All data were entered in the master chart and analysedusing SPSS Version 20 softwareResults: Out of 175 subjects majority were in age group of 41to 50 years (30.4%) with mean age around 42 years and 101subjects were males (57.7%). Low serum albumin was foundin 67.2% of subjects. 12% of the subjects had CD 4 Count ofless than 100 and among subjects with CD 4 Count of lessthan 100, 76% of the subjects had low serum albumin whichwas statistically significant with p value of 0.003.Conclusion: From the study can conclude that in HIV /AIDSpatients serum albumin levels correlate with CD 4 counts andcan be used as a marker of immune suppression.