Should pulmonary tuberculosis be an AIDS-defining diagnosis in patients infected with HIV?

Between 1983 and 1989, we cared for 56 patients with tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. In 37 patients (66%), tuberculosis occurred before any other AIDS-defining disease (group 1); in 10 (18%) it occurred during the same month as another AIDS-defining disease (group 2); and in 9 (16%), after the diagnosis of AIDS (group 3). Tuberculosis was entirely pulmonary in 14 patients (25%), entirely extrapulmonary in 9 (16%), and both pulmonary and extrapulmonary in 33 (59%). The frequency of extrapulmonary involvement was similar in patients from group 1 and from groups 2 and 3 (combined): 76% versus 74%. Needle biopsy of the liver revealed hepatic involvement in 18 patients (32%). The mean CD4 lymphocyte count was 232/mm3 when tuberculosis was entirely pulmonary, and 243/mm3 when extrapulmonary disease was present (difference not significant). In group 1, the onset of both pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis occurred at the same stage of HIV infection, 12 and 10 months, respectively, before any other AIDS-defining disease. Treatment, planned to last 1 year, was highly effective, despite frequent side-effects. Among the 32 patients who completed treatment, relapse of tuberculosis occurred in 2 (6%) with a mean follow-up of 16 months (0-53 months) after completion. Our results suggest that pulmonary tuberculosis should be included in the criteria for diagnosis of AIDS.