DETERMINATION OF HIV STATUS IN TRUENAT POSITIVE TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS- AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable disease which is a leading cause of death worldwide. India has a high tuberculosis (TB) burden. Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV co-infections have a global prevalence with devastating morbidity and massive mortality, a signicant percentage of TB cases are Human immunodeciency virus (HIV) positive also. As the HIV epidemic is fuelling the global TB epidemic, the prevalence of the virus in TB patients is a sensitive indicator of the spread of HIV into the general population in many regions. Aim & Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV-infection among Tuberculosis positive patients. Materials And Methods: This is an Observational study, conducted in Secondary care hospital in TB centre. This Study was conducted on positive TB cases from (January 1st 2023 to March 31st 2024). TB cases were dened as cases with positive Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) by Ziehl neelsen method, Truenat or by radiological and clinical ndings. TB cases were screened using a HIV Tridot spot test, followed by conrmatory diagnostic technique for detecting both (HIV 1& 2 Ag). A total of 31 Results: 4 participants were diagnosed with TB. Those cases were tested for HIV coinfection. Out of which 102 (32.4%) were Sero-positive for HIV testing which is suggestive of coinfection with TB. Among 102 cases,Rifampacin resistance was 3.8% and 56.8% were Males and 43.1% were Females. Out of 102 cases, 50% belongs to stage 1, 44.1% to stage 2, 5.8% belongs to stage 3 of HIV depending on CD4 levels according to CDC guidelines. In this Conclusion: study the prevalence of TB-HIV co-infection was high (32.4%). The risk of TB/HIV occurrence was found to be high among patients. Furthermore, since clinical variables were associated with TB/HIV co-infection, health professionals should care for patients who are in WHO clinical stage III HIV, and patient who had lower CD4 counts. So, all TB patients should be assessed for HIV risk factors and further counselled for HIV testing. Conversely, all HIV-positive cases should be screened for TB.