CT imaging features and value of serum TNF-α in diagnosis of HIV infection complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis

OBJECTIVE To investigate the CT imaging features and analyze the value of serum tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis. METHODS Totally 52 HIV infection patients who were complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis and treated in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from Jun 2016 to Jun 2020 were assigned as the study group, meanwhile, 50 patients with simple pulmonary tuberculosis were chosen as the control group. The CT imaging examination data and serum TNF-α level were collected from the patients on the 1st day of enrollment, and the value of serum TNF-α in diagnosis of HIV infection complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS The proportions of patients with plaque consolidation, multiple cavities, pleural effusion, multiple nodules and lymph node enlargement and the TNF-α level were significantly higher in the study group than in the control group, while the proportion of patients with single cavity of the study group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P＜0.05). In the study group, there was significant difference in the serum TNF-α level among the patients with different types of tuberculosis(P＜0.05); the TNF-α level of the type Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ patients was significantly higher than that of the type I patients(P＜0.05); the TNF-α level of the type Ⅲ, Ⅳ patients was significantly higher than that of the type Ⅱ patients (P＜0.05); the TNF-α level of the type Ⅳ patients was significantly higher than that of the type Ⅲ patients(P＜0.05). As compared with the single index of plaque consolidation, single caviry, multiple cavities, pleural effusion, multiple nodules, lymph node enlargement and the TNF-α, the joint detection of the seven indicators had higher value in diagnosis of HIV infection complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis(P＜0.05). CONCLUSION HIV infection complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis can be diagnosed with CT imaging features and serum TNF-α, which have high diagnostic value.