Q and A

Question

Is it possible for CD4 cells to decrease so quickly?

Is it possible for CD4 cells to decrease so quickly? On 3rd May my CD4 count was 387 (22%) then on 21st May my CD4 count had gone down to 57 (17%). Is this likely? I am not yet taking HIV medication and all the tests so far have shown good results. What do you think? Is this result normal?

Answer

Thank you for your question.

If the latest results is really 57, then the results show a significant drop in your CD4 count.

You need to know now whether this is a real result or a lab error. Your clinic should already have run a new test but if they haven’t contact immediately to confirm if your CD4 count has really dropped this low. If it has really dropped to 57, you need start HIV treatment. Your clinic should have also given you other prophylaxis medication which they check your count is under 200.

Because this is unusual, it may be due to another illness or complication, rather than just HIV progression

CD4 counts can fluctuate depending on lots of different things. For more information about this please see this similar question.

For more information about starting treatment please read the i-Base ‘Introduction to Combination Therapy’ guide .

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