Question
What kind of recovery can someone expect if their CD4 count is 22?
9 July 2008. Related: All topics, Starting treatment.
My friend was just diagnosed with a T4 cell count (CD4 count) of 22. I am unsure of his viral load. With current state of the art treatment using the best new drugs what kind of a recovery can he expect to make ?
He has obviously never been treated before, leads a healthy exercise/diet program and is symptom free.
Answer
People who start ARV therapy with a lower CD4 count generally need more time for their immune system to recover. The speed of the process is very individual and it is really difficult to predict how quickly this will happen in the case of your friend.
The important thing, however, is that the ARV therapy works. There are examples of people who have started therapy even with very low CD4 counts and who do really well.
Because your friend is vulnerable to other infection with such a low count he should be taking an antibiotic treatment (usually Septrin, which is also called sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim) until his CD4 count gets back over 200 cells/mm3.
If you are interested in further information about treatment, you may find the Introduction to Combination Therapy booklet interesting.
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