Timing of antiretroviral therapy initiation after diagnosis of recent human immunodeficiency virus infection and CD4+ T-cell recovery

We retrospectively examined the timing of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and CD4+ T-cell recovery over 36 months among recent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections using BED (HIV-1 subtypes B, E and D) immunoglobulin G capture enzyme immunoassay (BED-CEIA). Regardless of baseline CD4+ counts, individuals (n = 393) who initiated ART >2 months after diagnosis had significantly decreased probability and rate of achieving CD4+ counts ≥900 cells/μL or ≥600 cells/μL than those individuals (n = 135) who started ART earlier (≤2 months). But the mean CD4+ counts in two groups converged after 30 months of treatment. Early ART initiation leads to accelerated CD4+ recovery, but does not offer a long-term advantage in CD4+ counts.