Table 1.
Characteristics of HIV-positive, treatment-naïve patients with and without a history of injecting drug use (IDU)a
| With history of IDU (n=1009) | Without history of IDU (n=891) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral thrush | 40.8 (396/970) | 29.8 (246/825) | <0.001 |
| Hepatitis C antibodies | 90.2 (599/664) | 12.8 (55/429) | <0.001 |
| Mortality during follow-up | 8.9 (90/1009) | 6.7 (60/891) | 0.078 |
| Start ART during follow-up | 69.8 (703/1007) | 56.7 (505/891) | <0.001 |
| Median CD4 cell count, cells/µl (IQR) | 71 (18–249) | 157 (31–340) | <0.001 |
| Median haemoglobin level, g/dl (IQR) | 13.2 (11.3–14.8) | 12.1 (10.4–13.4) | <0.001 |
| Median BMI, kg/m2 (IQR) | 19.2 (17.3–21.6) | 19.9 (17.6–22.7) | 0.002 |
| Median follow-up, days (IQR) | 686 (83–1575) | 237 (24–951) | <0.001 |
| Tuberculosis symptoms and treatment status (%) | |||
| History of tuberculosis treatment | 34.8 (332/953) | 21.9 (172/784) | <0.001 |
| Weight loss (>10%) | 38.4 (382/996) | 32.6 (273/837) | 0.011 |
| Chronic cough (>3 weeks) | 21.3 (212/993) | 22.2 (185/835) | 0.677 |
| Night sweats | 1.6 (16/1009) | 2.7 (24/891) | 0.093 |
| Fever (>1 week) | 28.5 (284/996) | 24.6 (206/838) | 0.058 |
| At least one of the above symptoms | 48.3 (487/1009) | 41.9 (373/891) | 0.005 |
| Tuberculosis treatment during follow-upb | 17.5 (177/1009) | 10.1 (90/891) | <0.001 |
a
Unless stated otherwise, data are given as percentage (numerator/denominators). Data were missing for CD4 cell count (68 with and 119 without IDU), haemoglobin (78 with and 127 without IDU) and for BMI (188 with and 203 without IDU).
b
Individuals receiving tuberculosis treatment either at the HIV clinic or at the hospital based on medical status and pharmacy records. IDU, injecting drug use; ART, antiretroviral treatment; IQR, interquartile range; BMI, body mass index.