International Journal of Scientific Research in Dental and Medical Sciences

International Journal of Scientific Research in Dental and Medical Sciences

Correlation of CD4 Cell Count with Absolute Lymphocyte Count, Haemoglobin Level, and Platelet Count in HIV-Positive Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Nilam Charaniya 1
Gunja Dwivedi 2
Swati Agarwal 2
Aman Charaniya 3
Minal Jain 3
1 Department of Pathology, Rabindranath Tagore Medical College, Udaipur, India
2 Department of Internal Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
3 Department of Pathology, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, India
10.30485/ijsrdms.2026.582246.1704
Abstract
Background and aim: CD4+ T-lymphocyte count is the reference standard for assessing immune status and monitoring HIV progression, but its measurement is often unavailable in resource-limited settings. This study evaluated routine haematological parameters as potential surrogate markers for identifying severe immunosuppression in HIV-infected adults.
Material and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 245 HIV-positive adults attending the ART Centre at Maharana Bhupal Government Hospital, Udaipur, India. Absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), haemoglobin (Hb), total leucocyte count (TLC), and platelet count were measured using an automated haematology analyser, while CD4 counts were determined by flow cytometry. Pearson’s correlation assessed associations between CD4 count and haematological parameters, and diagnostic performance was evaluated using a CD4 threshold of ≤200 cells/mm³.
Results: The mean participant age was 40.06 ± 12.9 years, and 60.8% were male. Severe immunosuppression was identified in 42.1% of patients. ALC showed the strongest positive correlation with CD4 count (r=0.482, p<0.05) and demonstrated high specificity (86.6%) but modest sensitivity (43.7%) for detecting severe immunosuppression. Hb showed a weaker yet significant positive correlation with CD4 count (r=0.272, p=0.002), whereas platelet count and TLC were not significantly associated with CD4 levels.
Conclusions: ALC is a simple, inexpensive, and readily available marker that may assist in identifying severe immunosuppression when CD4 testing is inaccessible. However, because of its limited sensitivity, it should complement rather than replace CD4 estimation. Hb may provide additional clinical information, whereas platelet count and TLC have limited utility as surrogate markers.
Keywords
Blood Platelets
CD4 Lymphocyte Count
HIV
Lymphocyte Count
Subjects
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International Journal of Scientific Research in Dental and Medical Sciences
Volume 8, Issue 1
Winter 2026
Pages 1-7

  • Receive Date 11 January 2026
  • Revise Date 20 February 2026
  • Accept Date 28 February 2026
  • Publish Date 01 March 2026