Tlustova T. Persons living with HIV tuberculous meningoencephalitis diagnostics and treatment features

The object of the study: tuberculous meningoencephalitis (TM) in patients with tuberculosis/HIV coinfection; aim - to improve diagnostics and therapy of tuberculous meningoencephalitis in patients with tuberculosis/HIV coinfection by determining the distinctive features of its course and the optimum time to start antiretroviral therapy; methods: clinical, bacteriological, laboratory, immunological, morphological, mathematical and statistical; novelty: the information on specific features of the TM clinical and laboratory course in patients with tuberculosis/HIV coinfection, depending on CD4+-lymphocytes blood level has been extended. Manifestations of tuberculosis inflammation in brain and its lining in the said category of patients have been refined. Three types of TM progress in patients with tuberculosis/HIV coinfection have been singled out for the first time, differing in approaches to disease management and prognosis. It has been proven that adding antiretroviral therapy to antituberculosis therapy after administration of 30 daily doses of antituberculosis drugs results in decrease in hospital lethality indices and reduces the risk of the immune system recovery syndrome. Field of application - medicine.