Virological response to highly active antiretroviral therapy is unaffected by antituberculosis therapy

We compared 156 human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) infected patients who had tuberculosis with control populations of similar size. Of 111 patients with HIV infection and tuberculosis who received highly active antiretroviral therapy ( HAART) and therapy for tuberculosis concurrently, 92 ( 83%) achieved or maintained virus loads of < 50 copies/mL, and 99 ( 89%) achieved or maintained a >= 2 log(10) reduction in virus load after 6 months. Virological response and changes in CD4 cell count were equivalent to those in 111 matched HIV-infected subjects without tuberculosis starting HAART. Tuberculosis recurrence rates were similar to those found in an HIV-uninfected population of 156 subjects ( 3% and 1%, respectively). Treatment for HIV and tuberculosis does not compromise outcomes for either disease.