Risk factors for disseminated histoplasmosis in a cohort of HIV-infected patients in French Guiana

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2014 Jan 30;8(1):e2638. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002638. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Disseminated histoplasmosis is the first AIDS-defining infection in French Guiana. A retrospective cohort study studied predictive factors of disseminated histoplasmosis in HIV-infected patients between 1996 and 2008. Cox proportional hazards models were used. The variables studied were age, sex, last CD4/CD8 count, CD4 nadir, herpes or pneumocystosis, cotrimoxazole and fluconazole use, antiretroviral treatment and the notion of recent initiation of HAART. A total of 1404 patients were followed for 6833 person-years. The variables independently associated with increased incidence of disseminated histoplasmosis were CD4 count<50 per mm3, CD4 count between 50 and 200 per mm3, a CD4 nadir <50 per mm3, CD8 count in the lowest quartile, herpes infection, and recent antiretroviral treatment initiation (less than 6 months). The variables associated with decreased incidence of histoplasmosis were antiretroviral treatment for more than 6 months, fluconazole treatment, and pneumocystosis. There were 13.5% of deaths at 1 month, 17.5% at 3 months, and 22.5% at 6 months after the date of diagnosis of histoplasmosis. The most important predictive factors for death within 6 months of diagnosis were CD4 counts and antiretroviral treatment. The present study did not study environmental/occupational factors but provides predictive factors for disseminated histoplasmosis and its outcome in HIV patients in an Amazonian environment during the HAART era.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • French Guiana / epidemiology
  • HIV Infections / complications*
  • Histoplasmosis / epidemiology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Survival Analysis
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work has benefited from an “Investissement d'Avenir” grant managed by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CEBA, ref. ANR-10-LABX-25-01). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.