Clinical characteristics and risk factors for poor prognosis among HIV patients with Talaromyces marneffei bloodstream infection

BACKGROUND: Talaromyces marneffei (TM) bloodstream infection is common in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients with extreme immunodeficiency in Southeast Asia and South China, however, clinical case study on TM bloodstream infection is scarce. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of TM bloodstream infection in hospitalized AIDS patients and determined the outcomes of hospitalization after diagnosis in our hospital over the past 5 years. METHODS: From January 2015 to July 2020, 87 cases of TM detected by blood culture in patients admitted to our center were collected. The admission complaints, blood cells, biochemistry, CD4 and CD8 cell counts and 1,3-β-D-glucan (BDG), procalcitonin (PCT), CRP level on the day of blood culture test, and outcomes during hospitalization were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was performed for the risk factors for poor prognosis (60 cases). Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between peripheral blood cells, albumin and the time required for TM turnaround in blood culture. The difference was statistically significant when the P value was < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 87 patients were collected, with a median age of 34 years, a median hemoglobin of 94 g/L and CD4 count of 7/μl. The rate of TM bloodstream infection among all in-hospital patients increased from 0.99% in 2015 to 2.09% in 2020(half year). Patients with TM bloodstream infection with CD8 count < 200/μl had a 12.6-fold higher risk of poor prognosis than those with CD8 count > 200/μl (p = 0.04), and those with BDG < 100 pg/mL had a 34.9-fold higher risk of poor prognosis than those with BDG > 100 pg/mL (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: TM bloodstream infection is becoming more common in advanced AIDS patients in endemic areas. For those patients with extremely low CD4 and CD8 cell counts below 200/μl is with an increased risk of poor prognosis.