Rate of Art Adherence and Clinical Outcome Among HIV Patients with Opportunistic Infection in an Urban Hospital in Eastern DRC

¹Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Université de Conservation de la Nature et de Développement de Kasugho, GOMA, DRC

²Faculty of Medecine, Université Catholique du Graben, Butembo, DRC

³Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Uganda

⁴Department of Public Health, School of Allied Health Sciences, Kampala International University, Ishaka, Uganda

⁵Department of Internal Medicine, Kampala International University-Teaching Hospital, Bushenyi, Uganda

⁶Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kampala International University Teaching Hospital, Ishaka-Bushenyi, Uganda

*Corresponding author: Olivier Mulisya, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, FEPSI Hospital Butembo, DRC , Phone: 243997719443, E-mail: [email protected]

Received Date: September 02, 2024

Publication Date: October 25, 2024

Citation: Mulisya O, et al. (2024). Rate of Art Adherence and Clinical Outcome Among HIV Patients with Opportunistic Infection in an Urban Hospital in Eastern DRC. Clin Res. 5(1):25.

Copyright: Mulisya O, et al. © (2024).

ABSTRACT
Background: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the global rollout of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HA+ART) has led to a decline in HIV-related deaths. However, Loss to follow-up (LTFU) is a significant cause for treatment failure and threatens the enhancement of HIV treatment outcomes among patients on ART. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of ARV adherence and clinical outcome among HIV patients with opportunistic infections attending an urban hospital in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study for 6 months, from May to December 2022 at FEPSI Hospital in Butembo city. All HIV patients presenting with opportunistic infections diagnosed and managed at this hospital were consecutively enrolled. Stratified questionnaires were used to collect participant characteristics. Descriptive statistics followed by binary logistic regression were conducted using SPSS version 26, and a p≤0.05 was considered statistically significant at 95% confident interval. Results: The rate of ARV adherence was 27.87% while the mortality rate was 25.41% among HIV patients with opportunistic infections. On multivariate logistic regression, not adhering to HIV medicine (aOR=19.885, CI:3.661-108.012, p=0.001), non-ambulating (supine positon) on admission (aOR=26.982, CI:3.234-225.140, p=0.002) were found to be independently associated with mortality among HIV patients. Conclusion: Among HIV patients with opportunistic infections in our setting, the rate of ARV adherence is still low while the mortality rate remains high. Hence, LTFU remains a major factor halting the progress of the prevention and treatment of HIV patients. This study recommends Improving comprehensive counselling services, follow-up for adverse reactions and introducing an ART outcome evaluation program may help reduce LTFU to an acceptable level.

Keywords: Rate of Art Adherence, Clinical Outcome, Opportunistic Infection, Urban Hospital in Eastern DRC