Abstract:

Tuberculosis is one of the major co-infections that affect the prognosis and quality of life of HIV infection/ AIDS patients. The clinical characteristics of HIV infection/AIDS patients combined with tuberculosis are different from those of patients with tuberculosis alone, and its diagnosis and treatment are more difficult. Etiological diagnosis is the main basis for clinical diagnosis of tuberculosis, and nucleic acid detection methods based on DNA and RNA technology, such as Xpert MTB/RIF and Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra, have been used for early diagnosis for HIV infetion/AIDS patients combined with tuberculosis due to their high sensitivity and specificity. At present, many studies hope to find new diagnostic markers through multi-omics research to help to diagnose tuberculosis earlier and faster in patients. Although there are some biomarkers with potential value in the research of transcriptome and proteome, the practical value needs further research and confirmation. The treatments for patients with co-infection include anti-MTB therapy and antiretroviral therapy (ART). In principle, the treatment of co-infection is the same as that of single pathogen infection. However, due to the complex interactions between the two pathogens and among the therapeutic medicines, the treatment of patients with co-infection is more complex. The complexity of the diagnosis and treatment of co-infection leads to the treatment outcome still needing to be further improved. It is particularly important for us to further study the mechanism and impact of HIV infection/MTB interaction and to explore more optimized and accessible clinical diagnosis methods and treatment regimens in future research.

Key words: Human immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Tuberculosis, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Treatment