Molecular/HIV laboratory

Flow cytometry - HIV

Summary

Science

Clinical

Clinical

The flow cytometry results, once validated by a senior healthcare scientist are passed to the clinician who will consider them in association with the viral load results and the patients current symptomatic status. An individual with HIV can have a healthy CD4 count for many years but during periods when the level drops they are prone to develop a range of infections that become more severe and unusual the lower the count gets. A normal CD4 count for a healthy adult individual is considered to be in the range 450-1660 cells/mm3or 0.45 to 1.7x109 cells per litre of blood. Once the CD4 count drops below this the patient becomes prone to a range of diseases that gradually become more life threatening. With only slightly low CD4 counts a patient is more likely to get less severe infections such as Gingivitis, herpes or Oral candidiasis. As the immune depletion becomes more severe, the infections also become more severe with patients contracting Toxoplasmosis and opportunistic pulmonary infections such as environmental mycobacteria. These later stage diseases are life threatening and fall into a group of conditions referred to as AIDS defining illnesses.

• Science