Association between the cytokine storm, immune cell dynamics, and viral replicative capacity in hyperacute HIV infection

Table 1 Characteristics of study participants for whom cytokines were measured

	Acute untreated	Acute treated	P value^d
Number of participants	12	8
Female, N (%)	12 (100%)	8 (100%)	> 0.999
Age in years	21 (21–24)	22 (20–23)	0.917
Fiebig stages I–II at diagnosis, N (%)^a	11 (92%)	8 (100%)	> 0.999
Fiebig stages I–II at ART initiation, N (%)	N/A	8 (100%)	N/A
Days from detection to ART initiation and range	N/A	1 (1–2)	N/A
Nadir CD4⁺ T cell counts^b (cells/μL)	329 (233–458)	840 (623–1008)	< 0.001
Peak viral load (log₁₀ RNA copies/mL)	7.08 (6.93–7.75)	4.26 (3.45–5.13)	< 0.001
Days from detection to viral suppression and range	N/A	23 (7–63)	N/A
Set point CD4⁺ T cell counts (cells/μL)^c	583 (555–630)	N/A	N/A
Set point viral load (log₁₀ RNA copies/mL)^c	4.74 (4.11–5.36)	N/A	N/A

Medians and interquartile ranges (in brackets) are shown for CD4⁺ T cell count and viral load measurements. Medians and ranges (in brackets) are shown for the number of days
N/A not applicable
^aOne participant in the acute untreated group was diagnosed at Fiebig stage III, but her viremia was still on an upward trajectory. At the time of diagnosis, her viral load was 5.94 log₁₀ RNA copies/mL which rose to 6.51 log₁₀ RNA copies/mL at the next study visit
^bNadir CD4⁺ T cell counts were determined as nadir during the first 28 days after the detection of plasma viremia
^cSet point CD4⁺ T cell counts and set point viral loads were determined by calculating the averages between 28 days and 6 months after the detection of viremia in untreated individuals
^dStatistical tests used: Fisher’s exact test was used for % female and Fiebig stage at diagnosis; all other comparisons were done using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test