Oumaïma Djarma1, Yohan Nguyen2, Fanny Renois3, Alain Djimassal1, Firouze Banisadr2, Laurent Andreoletti4. 1. Service de Médecine interne, Hôpital Le Bon Samaritain, CHU Walia, N'Djamena, Chad. 2. Laboratoire de Virologie médicale et moléculaire Hôpital Robert Debré, CHU Reims & EA-4684, Faculté de Médecine, Reims, France Service de Médecine interne, Maladies infectieuses et Immunologie Clinique, Hôpital Robert Debré, CHU Reims, France. 3. Laboratoire de Virologie médicale et moléculaire Hôpital Robert Debré, CHU Reims & EA-4684, Faculté de Médecine, Reims, France. 4. Service de Médecine interne, Hôpital Le Bon Samaritain, CHU Walia, N'Djamena, Chad Laboratoire de Virologie médicale et moléculaire Hôpital Robert Debré, CHU Reims & EA-4684, Faculté de Médecine, Reims, France landreoletti@chu-reims.fr.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Retention of HAART-eligible HIV-infected patients in clinical follow-up systems are now becoming an important issue in sub-Saharan African countries. METHODS: In this retrospective study (April 2008 to November 2011), we assessed the attrition rate variations in a cohort of 509 HAART-eligible patients in Chad. RESULTS: Decrease in levels of loss to follow-up were observed during the implementation of continuous free access to HAART (72.5 vs 10%; p<0.001) and was independent of gender, age, WHO clinical stage and CD4+ T cell count at inclusion and of the time delay to initiate HAART (p>0.48). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the implementation of free access to HAART without any interruption of supply, from autumn 2009, could be the factor that potentially changed the HIV patient attrition rate in this resource-limited setting.
BACKGROUND: Retention of HAART-eligible HIV-infectedpatients in clinical follow-up systems are now becoming an important issue in sub-Saharan African countries. METHODS: In this retrospective study (April 2008 to November 2011), we assessed the attrition rate variations in a cohort of 509 HAART-eligible patients in Chad. RESULTS: Decrease in levels of loss to follow-up were observed during the implementation of continuous free access to HAART (72.5 vs 10%; p<0.001) and was independent of gender, age, WHO clinical stage and CD4+ T cell count at inclusion and of the time delay to initiate HAART (p>0.48). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the implementation of free access to HAART without any interruption of supply, from autumn 2009, could be the factor that potentially changed the HIV patient attrition rate in this resource-limited setting.
Authors: Kate R Murray; Lisa S Dulli; Kathleen Ridgeway; Leila Dal Santo; Danielle Darrow de Mora; Patrick Olsen; Hannah Silverstein; Donna R McCarraher Journal: PLoS One Date: 2017-09-29 Impact factor: 3.240