Background
There is limited published data on the outcomes of infants starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in routine care in Southern Africa. This study aimed to examine the baseline characteristics and outcomes of infants initiating ART.
Methods
We analysed prospectively collected cohort data from routine ART initiation in infants from 11 cohorts contributing to the International Epidemiologic Database to Evaluate AIDS in Southern Africa. We included ART naïve HIV-infected infants <12 months of age initiating ≥ three antiretroviral drugs between 2004 and 2012. Kaplan-Meier estimates were calculated for mortality, loss to follow-up (LTFU), transfer out and virological suppression. We used Cox Proportional Hazards models stratified by cohort to determine baseline characteristics associated with outcomes mortality and virological suppression.
Results
The median (interquartile range) age at ART initiation of 4945 infants was 5.9 months (3.7-8.7) with follow-up of 11.2 months (2.8-20.0). At ART initiation 77% had WHO clinical stage 3 or 4 disease and 87% were severely immunosuppressed. Three-year mortality probability was 16% and LTFU 29%. Severe immunosuppression, WHO stage 3 or 4, anaemia, being severely underweight and initiation of treatment before 2010 were associated with higher mortality. At 12 months after ART initiation 17% of infants were severely immunosuppressed and the probability of attaining virological suppression was 56%.
Conclusion
Most infants initiating ART in Southern Africa had severe disease with high probability of LTFU and mortality on ART. Although the majority of infants remaining in care showed immune recovery and virological suppression, these responses were suboptimal.
Background: A strategy implemented by the South African Department of Health to manage the high burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been to task-shift services to primary health care clinics. Outcomes of paediatric patients with HIV are poorer than those of adults, particularly in rural areas. Viral suppression in paediatric patients at the feeder clinics of a rural South African hospital was anecdotally far below the aim of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) of 90%.Methods: A quality improvement approach was used to conduct a baseline assessment of HIV viral suppression in paediatric patients and other process measures, implement a clinical mentorship intervention and evaluate its effectiveness.Results: An initial audit of 235 clinical folders of paediatric patients with HIV revealed a viral suppression of 55.3%. Other poor measures included prescription accuracy, viral loads performed within schedule and response to successive high viral loads. A clinical mentorship intervention using dedicated doctor outreach was implemented and the audit repeated after 12 months (263 folders). Viral suppression improved to 67.4%, as did most other process measures.Conclusion: The quality improvement approach regarding the aim to significantly improve viral suppression in paediatric patients through the implementation of clinical mentorship was successful.
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