Association between CD4 T cell counts and the immune status among adult critically ill HIV-negative patients in intensive care units in Uganda

Background: Cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) T cells play a central role in regulation of adaptive T cell-mediated immune responses. Low CD4 T cell counts are not routinely reported as a marker of immune deficiency among HIV-negative individuals, as is the norm among their HIV positive counterparts. Despite evidence of mortality rates as high as 40% among Ugandan critically ill HIV-negative patients, the use of CD4 T cell counts as a measure of the immune status has never been explored among this population. This study assessed the immune status of adult critically ill HIV-negative patients admitted to Ugandan intensive care units (ICUs) using CD4 T cell count as a surrogate marker

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in an African Intensive Care Unit Setting: A Prospective Study of Prevalence and Outcomes.

ARDS is a life-threatening form of respiratory failure accounting for at least 10% of global ICU admissions (1-5). The Berlin definition for diagnosing ARDS, is expensive for most resource-constrained settings to apply(6-8). There are therefore very limited data reporting on the burden of ARDS in Low-income countries (LICs). We sought to determine the prevalence of ARDS among mechanically ventilated Ugandan intensive care unit (ICU) patients using the Kigali modification