Demographic and clinical characteristics and chemoprophylaxis status among children on antiretroviral treatment at Arba Minch Hospital and Health Center, Southern Ethiopia, 2017.
Abstract
Antiretroviral therapy is a drug treatment that plays a great role in reduction of mortality among children infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Studies in Africa have shown that there is short survival time among children receiving antiretroviral therapy. The aims of this study were to estimate the survival time and identify associated factors among HIV-infected children after initiation of antiretroviral therapy. Institution-based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 421 children. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to determine independent predictors. Findings of this study reveal that 261 (62%) children were alive, 43 (10.2%) were lost to follow-up, 52 (12.4%) were transferred out to other facilities, and 65 (15.4%) were reported to have died, and overall prevalence of malnutrition among respondents was 23.7% (95% CI, 19.13–28.27%). Multivariable analysis showed that nutritional status (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) = 4.1, 95% CI = 2.41–6.9), absolute CD4 count below threshold (AHR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.32–3.88), fair and poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy (AHR = 0.4, 95% CI = 1.66–6.9), (AHR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.73–6.23), isoniazid prophylaxis (AHR = 0.4, 95%, CI = 0.21–0.65), and co-trimoxazole prophylaxis (AHR = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.14–0.44) were independent predictors of the survival time. Therefore, children living with HIV should be encouraged to adhere to the antiretroviral therapy and take co-trimoxazole and isoniazid preventive therapies.
Keywords
- antiretroviral therapy
- co-trimoxazole preventive therapy
- isoniazid preventive therapy
- children
- Ethiopia
1. Introduction
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease caused by a retrovirus known as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [1]. HIV/AIDS remains one of the world’s most significant public health challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries [2]. Children constitute a segment of the population affected by the virus. HIV contributes to illness and death of children and is the commonest cause for pediatric hospital admission [3].
Of the total 1.8 million children living with HIV, an estimated 110,000 die of AIDS-related illnesses each year which means 290 children die of AIDS-related illnesses every day. Nearly 90% of HIV-infected children live in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [4]. In Ethiopia it is estimated that 65,088 children are living with HIV. In 2016, over 3100 children died due to AIDS-related illness [5].
The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) presented an enormous opportunity in terms of reducing morbidity and mortality due to AIDS, worldwide. Ethiopia has been engaged in the scale-up of ART access to its people since 2005 [6]. It has been shown that the improvement in access to ART improves the quality of life and survival of children [7, 8].
Studies show that early access to ART could prevent 25% of HIV-related deaths [7, 8, 9]. Therefore, to reduce child mortality attributed to HIV/AIDS, the provision of comprehensive treatment, care, and support for HIV-infected children is very important.
Ethiopia has adopted the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations for ART where “regardless of their CD4 cell count, all HIV-infected individuals should start treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with HIV infection” [3]. The number of sites providing ART service in Ethiopia, including both public and private facilities, has increased from 3 to over 1000, and persons initiated on treatment has increased from 24,000 to 308,000 during the period 2006–2016 with more than 23,400 children under the age of 15 taking antiretroviral drugs [10].
Survival of HIV-positive children in Ethiopia and other similar settings has improved as a result of increased access to ART; however, it is still low in the first 6 months after initiation of ART [11]. Reports from Kenya, Zambia, and Malawi show that death among HIV-positive children following ART initiation remains high, ranging from 7.5 to 15% [12, 13, 14]. This contrasts the substantially higher survival probability among HIV-positive children initiated on ART in developed countries [15]. Findings from other studies elsewhere in Africa and other low-income countries show that ART programs have resulted in decreased mortality among children on ART [16, 17, 18]. Available evidences also depicted that the survival of the children is not only affected by the care delivered by ART programs but also more fundamentally influenced by low CD4 count, advanced disease according to WHO staging, low hemoglobin (Hgb) level, and opportunistic infections (OIs) like bacterial pneumonia and tuberculosis [19, 20, 21]. However, as far as our search of the available literature has revealed, little is known about the effect of factors like viral load, nutritional status, co-trimoxazole (CTZ) preventive therapy (CPT), and isoniazid (INH) preventive therapy (IPT) on survival status of children below 15 years of age. Therefore, this study intended to estimate the survival time and identify associated factors by including viral load, nutritional status, CPT, and IPT among HIV-infected children initiated on ART in public health facilities in Arba Minch town, Southern Ethiopia.
2. Main body
2.1 Patients and methods
2.2 Variables in the study
2.3 Operational definition of terms
3. Data collection procedure and data quality control
A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data [23, 24, 25]. The questionnaire was primarily developed in English and then translated into Amharic language for simplicity of data collection. Then Amharic version was also back-translated to English language for its consistency by two different language experts. The data collection tool has four sections. Pretesting of the data collection tool was done on 17 individuals who were selected from Berber Health Center that were not included in the actual study. Based on the pretest, a data collection tool was corrected to ensure logical sequence, clarity, and skipping patterns. Data was collected by eight trained health professionals and supervised by two bachelor degree health professionals. All data collectors and supervisors were trained for 2 days and performed practical exercises to be familiar with the questionnaire. Exit interview was done. The participants’ weight was measured in kilograms with 0.2 kg increments using standard beam balance, and the scale was checked at zero during measurement. The study participant was removing their heavy outer clothes and shoes. The participant height was measured using the standard measuring scale to the nearest 0.5 cm. The participants were asked to take off their shoes, stand erect, and look straight in vertical plain. The data collectors were regularly supervised for proper data collection as well as checked for completeness and consistency throughout data collection period.
The analysis was conducted in several steps. First, univariate Cox proportional hazard regression model was performed for each independent variable and outcome of interest to identify potentially significant variables for consideration in the multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model. Based on the univariate analysis, variables were selected for the multivariable analysis. Variables whose univariate significance test results were below p-value <0.25 were included in the multivariable regression model. In addition, context and findings of previous studies were considered in the identification of candidate variables for multivariable analysis.
Multivariable analysis was started with a model containing all of the selected variables. The model was built through a stepwise regression procedure, which added variables successively (the most significant at each step) until no variable added significant information and compared by likelihood ratio test and Harrell’s concordance statistic test. Interactions and confounders were tested and the cutoff point of beta change greater than 20% was used. The results of the final model were expressed in terms of hazard ratio with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and interpreted accordingly. Kaplan-Meier survival curve together with log-rank test was used to check for the existence of any significant differences in survival between the various categories of variables considered in this study. Statistical significance was declared if the p-value was less than 0.05.
4. Results
Among the reviewed participants, 410(97.4%) were on first-line ART regimen, while the rest were started on second line. Concerning the type of ART regimens, around 61% of children were taking D4T-based drug regimens when they started the treatment (Table 1).
Variables | Categories | Frequency | Percent |
---|---|---|---|
Sex | Male | 241 | 57.2 |
Female | 180 | 42.8 | |
Age category | <1 year | 30 | 7.1 |
1–4 years | 169 | 40.1 | |
5–14 years | 222 | 52.7 | |
Primary caregiver | Parents | 268 | 63.7 |
Relatives | 119 | 28.3 | |
Guardian/orphan | 34 | 8.0 | |
Parental status | Both parents are alive | 260 | 61.8 |
Maternal orphan | 45 | 10.9 | |
Paternal orphan | 31 | 7.4 | |
Double orphan | 84 | 19.9 | |
WHO clinical staging at entry | Stage I | 91 | 21.6 |
Stage II | 135 | 32.1 | |
Stage III | 147 | 34.9 | |
Stage IV | 48 | 11.4 | |
TB at baseline | Yes | 60 | 14.3 |
No | 361 | 85.7 | |
Hemoglobin level at baseline | <10 gm/dl | 78 | 18.5 |
≥10 gm/dl | 343 | 81.5 | |
Absolute CD4 at baseline | CD4 above threshold | 239 | 56.9 |
CD4 below threshold | 181 | 43.1 | |
ART adherence status | Good | 335 | 79.6 |
Fair | 33 | 7.8 | |
Poor | 53 | 12.6 | |
CTZ prophylaxis | Yes | 314 | 74.6 |
No | 107 | 25.4 | |
INH prophylaxis | Yes | 302 | 71.7 |
No | 119 | 28.3 |
5. Mean survival time after initiation of ART
After initiation of ART, children were followed up for a minimum of 1 and maximum of 95 months with median follow-up period of 50 (IQR = 24–80) months. At the end of follow-up, 261 (62%) of the children were alive, 43 (10.2%) were lost to follow-up, 52 (12.4%) were transferred out to other facilities, and 65 (15.4%) were reported dead. The overall mean estimated survival time after ART initiation of children in the study was 82.3 (95% CI = 79.48–85.14) months.
There is a significantly different survival time between different factors considered in this study. Females have relatively lower survival time of 79.3 months than males with 84.6 months. Children 1–4 years of age had higher survival time of 86.8 months than those less than 1 and 5–14 years of age who had a mean survival time of 69.3 and 80.8 months, respectively.
6. Comparison of survival curves
The overall Kaplan-Meier survivor function estimate showed that most of the deaths occurred in the earlier months of ART initiation, which declined in the later months of follow-up. Most of the graphs did not show differences between different categories. However, relatively larger gaps are observed in covariates such as WHO clinical stage, TB co-infection, low Hgb level (<10gm/dl), and CTZ and INH prophylaxes (Figures 1 and 2).
7. Results of the Cox proportional hazards regression model
One important predictor of low survival time in univariable Cox regression analysis was advanced WHO staging. The risk of low survival chance in individuals with advanced disease according to WHO staging at baseline was nearly 4 times higher than that of those at the mild stage of the disease (P < 0.001). The risk of surviving a shorter time in individuals who had severe acute malnutrition (SAM) at baseline was nearly 2.5 times higher when compared to those with no malnutrition (P < 0.006). Patients with baseline opportunistic infections (OIs) survive nearly three 3 times shorter than those without OIs (P < 0.001), and children with TB co-infection were nearly 11 times more likely to survive shorter when compared to those without TB co-infection (P < 0.001). The risk of surviving at short duration was significantly higher with low hemoglobin level (CHR = 7.3, 95% CI = 4.47–11.9, P = 0.001) and CD4 count below the threshold (CHR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.02–2.74, P = 0.041) when starting ART compared to their counterparts. CTZ and INH had preventive effect against surviving for short duration (CHR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.10–0.27 P = 0.001) and (CHR = 0.1, 95% CI = 0.07–0.20 P = 0.001) when compared to their counterparts throughout the follow-up period, respectively (Table 2).
Covariate/factor | Categories | CHR | P-values |
---|---|---|---|
Sex | Male | ||
Female | 1.617 | 0.053* | |
Age group | <1 year | ||
1–4 years | 1.259 | 0.336 | |
5–14 years | 0.655 | 0.069* | |
Nutritional status | Normal | ||
Underweight | 1.903 | 0.010* | |
Anemia | No | ||
Yes | 2.702 | 0.001* | |
Absolute CD4 count | Above threshold | ||
Below threshold | 1.293 | 0.041* | |
INH prophylaxis | No | ||
Yes | 0.408 | 0.001* | |
CTZ prophylaxis | No | ||
Yes | 0.348 | 0.001* | |
ART adherence on follow-up | Good | ||
Fair | 6.256 | 0.001* | |
Poor | 5.937 | 0.001* | |
WHO clinical staging at entry | Stage I and II | ||
Stage III | 2.360 | 0.009* | |
Stage IV | 10.412 | 0.001* | |
Functional status | Working | ||
Ambulatory | 1.302 | 0.350 | |
Bedridden | 1.375 | 0.392 | |
ART regimens at entry | D4t-based regimen | 0.294 | 0.420 |
AZT-based regimen | 0.513 | 0.290 | |
TDF-based regimen | 0.562 | 0.404 | |
Second-line ART | |||
Evidence of TB during follow-up | Yes | 1.383 | 0.050* |
No |
In multivariable Cox regression analysis, children with CD4 count below threshold for immunodeficiency at ART initiation were 2.3 times (AHR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.32–3.88, P = 0.003) more likely to survive at shorter duration as compared to those with CD4 count above threshold. Children with low weight for age (underweight) at ART initiation were almost 4 times (AHR = 4.1, 95% CI = 2.41–6.9, P = 0.001) more likely to survive at shorter duration as compared to those with normal weight. Children that were presented for treatment with fair ART adherence and poor ART adherence were on follow-up 3.4 times (AHR = 3.4, 95% CI = 1.66–6.9, P = 0.001) and 3.3 times (AHR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.73–6.23, P = 0.001) and more likely to survive at shorter duration, respectively, as compared to those with good adherence on follow-up. Estimated AHR for children on INH prophylaxis and CTZ prophylaxis were 0.4 (95% CI = 0.21–0.65, P = 0.001) and 0.3 (95% CI = 0.14–0.44, P = 0.001); short duration survival hazard among children who took INH prophylaxis was 63% and CTZ prophylaxis 75% (Table 3).
Covariate | Categories | AHR | P-values |
---|---|---|---|
Nutritional status | Normal | 1 | |
Underweight | 4.08 | 0.001 | |
Absolute CD4 count | Above threshold | 1 | |
Below threshold | 2.26 | 0.003 | |
INH prophylaxis | No | 1 | |
Yes | 0.37 | 0.001 | |
CTZ prophylaxis | No | 1 | |
Yes | 0.25 | 0.001 | |
ART adherence on follow-up | Good | 1 | |
Fair | 3.39 | 0.001 | |
Poor | 3.28 | 0.001 |
8. Discussion
In this study the overall mean survival time was 82.3 months (95% CI: 79.48–85.14). The cumulative probability of survival of children on ART was 82.9% after 5 years (95% CI: 78.2%–86.7%). The major factors that affect the survival time of children with HIV/AIDS and on ART are nutritional status, absolute CD4 count below threshold, and poor/fair adherence to ART. Isoniazid prophylaxis and co-trimoxazole prophylaxis were preventive factors.
Mean survival time in our cohort was 82.3 months (95% CI = 79.48–85.14). This was in line with the finding of a study conducted in Southwest Ethiopia [83 months (95% CI = 79–87)] [26]. However, our finding was higher when compared with study conducted in Northwest Ethiopia, which reported a survival time of 56.5 months [20]. This difference might be associated with the high proportion (74.3%) of children in this study taking CTZ prophylaxis as compared to the finding of the study conducted in Northwest Ethiopia (52.3–70.4%), and the difference might also be associated with increased access to ART services.
The cumulative probability of survival of children on ART in our study was 82.9% after 5 years (95% CI: 78.2–86.7%). This was comparable with the report of a study conducted in Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, Northern Ethiopia (83%) [27] and another one in Northwest Ethiopia (83%) [20]. However the cumulative survival probability from our study was much lower than that of the reports from Adama Referral Hospital and Medical College, Central Ethiopia (91.6%) [19], and Wolaita zone health facilities, Southern Ethiopia (92%) [20]. These variations between our study and those from central and Southern Ethiopia may have something to do with the variation in the quality of care provided at different institutions.
In this study we found that having CD4 cell count below the threshold level was significantly associated with an increased probability of having short duration of survival among the children. This concurs with the findings of different studies previously done in Ethiopia [20, 28]. The similarity might be related to the fact that children, in our series, with absolute CD4 counts below the threshold level are more prone to OIs like TB. Another possible explanation could be ART was initiated in an advanced HIV stage (stages III and IV) where immunity of the children was already compromised.
Another covariate that had a significant effect on survival time was adherence to ART. The HR for poor adherence was 2.1 times, and the HR for fair adherence was 2.2 times more likely to result in short duration of survival compared to children with good adherence. This finding was supported by studies conducted in Northwest Ethiopia [28] and Wolaita zone health facilities [20]. The poor adherence might be due to insufficient counseling and education of caregiver/patient.
The initiation of CTZ and INH at the start of ART in our cohort was associated with a longer duration of survival. This finding concurred with that of the studies conducted in Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Northern Ethiopia [20], and rural Mozambique [29]. The possible reason for higher risk of shorter survival time among children who did not receive CTZ at ART initiation could be due to occurrence of OIs such as
The hazards of short survival time for children on INH prophylaxis was 0.38, which means that, in those children who take INH prophylaxis, the hazard of short duration of survival was reduced by 62%. This finding corroborates the finding of the study conducted in Mizan-Aman General Hospital, in Southern Ethiopia [26], and that of a double blinded, placebo-controlled trial on INH efficacy among HIV children infected in Cape Town, South Africa [30]. A possible reason could be INH prophylactic therapy (IPT) prevented the occurrence of TB.
There are some strengths and limitations of this study. The strengths of this study are the use of standard measurements which enabled to make the comparison of findings with other national and international literatures to be valid. In addition, considering long duration of follow-up period of children on ART and the inclusion of important predictors like CTZ, INH and nutritional status also add to the strength to this study. Since our study is retrospective based on available records, excluding those with incomplete information, survival time might be underestimated.
9. Conclusion
In general, this study showed that the probability of survival of children on ART was 73.9% after 96 months and the overall mean survival time was 82.3 months. The main independent predictors of the survival time were nutritional status, absolute CD4 count below threshold, poor/fair adherence to ART, and absence of INH prophylaxis and CTZ prophylaxis. However, sex, age, advanced disease according to WHO clinical stage, and presence of TB at baseline were not predictors of survival time. Therefore, children living with HIV should be encouraged to take prophylaxis drugs like CTZ and INH. This could be achieved by collective efforts of all concerned bodies on high-risk groups such as children with OI especially TB after initiation of ART and a careful monitoring and follow-up of the children.
Acknowledgments
We would like to say thank you very much to the health facilities administrator of the hospital and health center, health professionals, and data collectors who contributed to this work.
Competing interest
The authors declare that there was no competing interest in connection to this research and its result.
Authors’ contribution
NB conceived and designed the study, developed data collection instruments, and supervised data collection. NB and SH participated in the testing and finalization of the data collection instruments and coordinated study progress. NB and SH performed the statistical analysis; SH wrote all versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acronyms and abbreviations
ART | antiretroviral therapy |
AHR | adjusted hazard rate |
AIDS | acquired immune deficiency syndrome |
CPT | co-trimoxazole preventive therapy |
FMOH | Federal Ministry of Health |
HIV | human immune virus |
NNRT | nonnucleated reverse transcripts |
SAM | severe acute malnutrition |
UNICEF | United Nations Children’s Fund |
WHO | World Health Organization |
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