A recent study published in the September 22 edition of Archives of Internal Medicine by researchers from Stanford found that administering CD4 tests extends life of patients by more than one year and saves health care costs. The study is based on HIV/AIDS patients in South Africa.
The CD4 test measures the number of CD4: crucial, disease-fighting cells of the immune system. CD4 cells are targeted by the AIDS virus and, as their numbers decline, patients become more prone to developing life-threatening infections. The CD4 test is simple and quick to administer and may require only a simple finger prick to obtain blood that is then analyzed in a cell-sorter.
In the study, researchers used a mathematical model to simulate different patient scenarios and analyze the costs and benefits of using these different methods to track the patients' disease. The model was based on data from two groups of patients in Capetown, South Africa, though the analysis takes into account the regional differences across southern Africa. The researchers evaluated patients who were followed based on symptoms alone, as well as those who received either one or both of these tests during the course of their treatment. The scientists then calculated the relative costs of each of these strategies.
They found that patientswho received a CD4 test alone lived 11.8 months longer than those who were monitored on the basis of their symptoms alone. Patients fared best when given the test and then started on therapy early-when their CD4 cells numbered 350, rather than waiting until they fell to 200.
Patients in the early treatment group had 18 percent fewer opportunistic infections and were less likely to be hospitalized. The cost savings per patient amounted to $417, compared with those who were monitored on the basis of symptoms alone, the researchers reported.
This study is available here.