Computed tomographic findings of the chest in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients presenting with respiratory illness: a cross-sectional study

Ayushi Naresh Kapse; Anagha Mohan Deshpande; Bhawana D Sonawane; Sunita Nitin Bhutada

Computed tomographic findings of the chest in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients presenting with respiratory illness: a cross-sectional study

Author(s)	Dr. Ayushi Naresh Kapse, Dr. Anagha Mohan Deshpande, Dr. Bhawana D Sonawane, Dr. Sunita Nitin Bhutada
Country	India
Abstract	Context: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection predisposes patients to a wide range of pulmonary opportunistic infections and malignancies. Computed tomography (CT) is considerably more sensitive than chest radiography in detecting early pulmonary abnormalities in this population. Aims: To study the computed tomographic findings of the chest in HIV-positive patients presenting with respiratory illness and to correlate these findings with the final diagnosis. Settings and Design: A hospital-based, prospective, observational study conducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis of a tertiary care teaching hospital over a period of two years. Methods and Material: Fifty-one symptomatic HIV-positive patients referred for CT chest were evaluated. Clinical and demographic details were recorded, and CT findings on high-resolution CT (HRCT), contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) or CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) were documented and correlated with the final clinical diagnosis. Statistical analysis used: Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) were used to summarise clinical and radiological findings. Results: The mean age was 46.9 years, with a male predominance (60.8%). Mediastinal lymphadenopathy (90.2%) was the most common CT finding, followed by fibrosis/bronchiectasis (64.7%), ground-glass opacity (60.8%), pleural effusion (60.8%) and consolidation (58.8%). Bilateral parenchymal involvement was seen in 80.4% of patients. An active infective etiology accounted for 74.5% of cases, with pulmonary tuberculosis the commonest final diagnosis (35.3%), followed by bacterial pneumonia (19.6%), Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (11.8%) and fungal infection (7.8%). Conclusions: CT chest, particularly HRCT, demonstrates a wide spectrum of pulmonary abnormalities in HIV-positive patients and is valuable for early detection, characterisation and differentiation of opportunistic pulmonary disease. Mediastinal lymphadenopathy and pulmonary tuberculosis were the predominant findings in this cohort.
Keywords	Computed tomography; HIV; lymphadenopathy; pulmonary tuberculosis; respiratory illness
Field	Medical / Pharmacy
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-09-16

View / Download PDF File

About IJFMR Fees & Payment Current Issue Publication Archive	Submit Research Paper Track Submission Status Publication Guidelines Publication Ethics Peer Review & Plagiarism	Join as a Reviewer Editors & Reviewers Reviewer Referral Program Get Reviewer Membership Certi.	Website/Journal Policies Usage Policy Content Policies Privacy Policy

Contact Us		+91-9687-828-838	editor@ijfmr.com

International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

Computed tomographic findings of the chest in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients presenting with respiratory illness: a cross-sectional study

Share this