Medical Emergencies · single question
Same patient. Which laboratory value would be most significantly altered due to HIV infection?
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Correct answer: C. CD4 on T cells
- A. Neutrophils do not carry CD4 as their defining marker — this is not the relevant value.
- B. CD8 is not a neutrophil marker either.
- C. Correct. HIV selectively infects and depletes CD4+ T-helper lymphocytes; the falling CD4 T-cell count is the key marker of disease progression.
- D. CD8+ T cells are not the cells preferentially destroyed; the CD4 count (and CD4:CD8 ratio) is what drops.
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