Clinical predictors of low CD4 count among HIV infected pulmonary tuberculosis clients: a health facility-based survey.

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the clinical and laboratory predictors of a low CD4+ cell count (<200 cells/microl) in HIV-infected patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).

Design And Setting: A prospective cohort study on HIV-positive patients with smear-positive PTB attending an outpatient clinic in Zimbabwe.

Participants: Consecutively consenting HIV-positive adults, aged 18 years and over, who had positive sputum smears for acid-fast bacilli and were naïve to both antituberculosis drugs and ART.