Elevated CD8 Counts During HAART Are Associated With HIV Virologic Treatment Failure

To evaluate whether elevated CD8 counts are associated with increased risk of virologic treatment failure in HIV-infected individuals. Retrospective cohort study. US Military HIV Natural History Study participants who initiated highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996-2008 had 6- and 12-month post-HAART HIV RNA 20% of previous 6-month follow-up visits had a greater risk of failure at the current visit than those who did not (HR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.14 to 2.06). Those with CD8 counts that increased after the start of HAART had a greater risk of failure than those with CD8 counts that decreased or remained the same (HR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.19 to 2.13). Initial or serial elevated CD8 counts while on HAART or an increase in CD8 counts from HAART initiation may be early warnings for future treatment failure.