Comparative Study Of Plasma Electrolytes (Na, K, Cl, and HCO3)And Urea Levels In HIV/AIDS And Pulmonary Tuberculosis Infected Subjects

Human immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) seronegative pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients (n=30; 15 females and 15 males) Aged 20 - 61 years; HIV/AIDS seropositve. Mycobacterium tuberculosis free subject (n= 30: 18 females and 13 males) aged 17 - 42 years and 50 HIV/AIDS seronegative mycobacterium tuberculosis free subjects (25 females and 25 males) aged 2 - 70 years were used as the tests and the normal control. HIV/AIDS screening/ tests were carried out on all the subject groups. Mycobacterium tuberculosis identification/screening using sputum was carried out Neelsen and staining and cultivation was done on Lowenstein Jensen medium. Sodium, Potassium, Chloride and Urea were analysed spectrophotometrically (colorimetry) and bicarbonate (HCO3) was biochemically analysed by titration using the plasma. Higher mean values of HCO₃ and urea were observed in HIV/AIDS patients (P<0.05) than values found in the pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Lower significant mean values of Na⁺ and CL were found in HIV/AIDS patients than the values obtained from the normal subjects and the tuberculosis patients (P<0.05). The means Na⁺ level obtained from the vomiting Pulmonary Tuberculosis [PTB] patients during the study was significantly higher compared with other subjects including non-vomiting PTB subjects. Non-vomiting PTB subject show a lower significant mean values of Na⁺ and CL than the vomiting PTB patients and the normal subjects (P<0.05). There was an observed higher significant means value of K in HIV/AIDS patients than the PTB and the normal subjects (P<0.05). The icteric HIV/AIDS (n=10) patients show a higher significant K⁺ level than other subject groups including anicteric HIV/AIDS. There was an observed lower significant mean k+ level in PTB patients compared to the normal and HIV/AIDS subjects (P<0.05).