Urine lipoarabinomannan levels in pulmonary tuberculosis with and without HIV coinfection

Background. Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is an opportunistic infection that occurs more frequently in individuals with weakened immune systems, such as those with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Diagnosing pulmonary TB in HIV patients can be particularly challenging. One alternative diagnostic method for TB involves detecting TB antigens through the lipoarabinomannan (LAM) test using urine samples. The aim of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of urinary LAM levels in pulmonary TB patients with and without HIV co-infection. Methods. This study was an analytical observational study with a cross-sectional design, conducted on all adult pulmonary TB patients aged 18 years and older, with and without HIV co-infection. A chi-square statistical test was used, with a significance level of p <0.05. Results. Data analysis was performed on 72 subjects with pulmonary TB, with 36 subjects in each group (with and without HIV co-infection). A comparative analysis of urinary LAM levels showed that pulmonary TB co-infected with HIV had a higher number of positive LAM cases (14 subjects, 19.44%) compared to pulmonary TB without HIV co-infection (5 subjects, 6.94%), with a p-value of 0.016, indicating a significant difference. Conclusion. The detection of urinary LAM levels in pulmonary TB patients co-infected with HIV showed positive results that were 3.945 times higher than in pulmonary TB patients without HIV co-infection.