Urine Lipoarabinomannan Testing for All HIV Patients Hospitalized in Medical Wards Identifies a Large Proportion of Patients With Tuberculosis at Risk of Death

Background Diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), the leading cause of death in people with HIV, remains a challenge in resource-limited countries. We assessed TB diagnosis using a strategy that included systematic urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) testing for all HIV patients hospitalized in medical wards and 6-month mortality according to LAM results. Methods This prospective, observational study included adult HIV patients hospitalized in the medical wards of a public district hospital in Malawi regardless of their TB symptoms or CD4 count. Each patient had a clinical examination, and Alere Determine TB-LAM, sputum microscopy, sputum GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert), chest x-ray, and CD4 count were systematically requested. Results Among 387 inpatients, 54% had a CD4 P = .013). In multivariable regression analyses, LAM-positive patients had a higher risk of mortality than LAM-negatives (adjusted odds ratio, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.1-5.8; P = .037). Conclusions In resource-limited hospital medical wards with high TB prevalence, a diagnostic strategy including systematic urine LAM testing for all HIV patients is an easily implementable strategy that identifies a large proportion of patients with TB at risk of death.