Background: A national roll-out of antiretroviral therapy in the public sector was started in 2004, and Paarl was one of the first sites to start these services in the Western Cape. Operational research is required to guide the continuous improvement of such services. This research aimed to describe the characteristics of the treatment cohort started at TC Newman CDC’s ARV clinic in Paarl, to determine the retention in treatment rate and to assess the clinical and virological outcomes. Methods: A retrospective descriptive and observational study was done at the TC Newman ARV clinic in Paarl. All adult HIV positive patients that were started on antiretroviral therapy in the given time period were included. Patient and treatment data had been collected in an electronic database (e-register) and were extracted and analysed. Results: Starters: Out of the 2469 patients that were enrolled for ARV treatment between February 2004 and December 2010, 2254 started locally (the rest transferred in). 64% of them were female (decreasing rate over the years). Strugglers: By June 2011 51.5% of patients were still on ARVs, 6.9% patients had died, 16.7% had been ‘transferred out’and 24.7% were reported as ‘Lost to Follow-up’. 40% of the attrition of the cohort occurred in the first 6 months, 70% in the first 18 months. Stayers: Of the 1172 patients retained after start at TC Newman CDC, 1023 (87.3%) were still on Regime 1 and 149 (12.7%) on Regime 2. Conclusions: The results of this treatment cohort (mortality, treatment retention and regimen durability) equal those in other published treatment cohorts, although very limited comparable data are available. However, the high ‘lost to follow-up’ rate is of concern and needs further investigation. Changes in the programme structure and environment tend to have an immediate effect on initiation numbers of new patients.

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The questionnaire text in English, Afrikaans and Native language / The aim of the study was to minimise non-adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment amongst HIV/AIDS adult patients at a hospital in Namibia thereby promoting successful outcomes in patients on ARV treatment. A quantitative cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on a sample of 112 non-adherent adults. Data collection was through structured interviews and patients’ records review. Data analysis was by descriptive statistics. Rate of non-adherence was 36.7%. Characteristics common in the sample were, being a woman, age of 31-45 years, being unmarried, low educational status, lack of HIV status disclosure, feeling that taking ARVs reminded one of HIV and experience of ARV side effects. Reasons for missed doses included forgetting, alcohol use, access to care, work commitments, lack of food, stress and travelling. Of the respondents, 86.6% had unsupressed viral loads. Recommendations include use of reminders, automated SMS, establishing treatment supporters and collaborative efforts in reducing active substance use to improve adherence. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Les recommandations de l’OMS sur la prise en charge des enfants nés de mères infectées par le VIH évoluent en fonction des nouvelles données scientifiques souvent issues d’essais thérapeutiques. Leur application en routine, surtout dans les pays à ressources limitées, devrait prendre en compte les contraintes opérationnelles locales pour guider les pratiques. Ce travail de thèse a été développé dans cette optique, avec pour objectif d’évaluer l’ensemble du processus de prise en charge de ces enfants avant l’âge de sept mois, depuis le dépistage précoce de l’infection VIH jusqu’à la mise en œuvre du traitement antirétroviral (ARV) systématiquement proposé dès le diagnostic de l’infection VIH, et leurs réponses aux vaccins administrés dans le Programme Elargi de Vaccination (PEV). Ce travail est issu de l’analyse des données collectées dans deux enquêtes : la cohorte ANRS-PEDIACAM initiée en 2007 et toujours en cours, menée dans trois hôpitaux urbains du Cameroun, et l’enquête transversale ACIP-EPIPEV, menée de novembre 2004 à Mai 2005 dans cinq hôpitaux du Cameroun et de la République Centrafricaine. Nos résultats ont montré que le diagnostic précoce du VIH et l’initiation des ARV chez les nourrissons étaient faisables et largement acceptés en routine dans les services de pédiatrie urbains. Parmi les nourrissons nés de mères séropositives inclus dans PEDIACAM, 89,7% ont été ramenés pour le test VIH à un âge médian de 1,5 mois (IQ : 1,4-1,6) et 83,9% ont complété le processus de diagnostic en revenant chercher les résultats du test avant l’âge de 7 mois. Les facteurs associés au processus incomplet reflétaient plus la qualité des soins prénataux et l’urgence du contexte obstétrical que les conditions environnementales. Parmi les nourrissons infectés par le VIH, 83,5% ont initié les ARV avant l’âge de 7 mois. Mais le processus d’initiation précoce des ARV a été considéré comme suboptimal chez environ un tiers d’entre eux. Les facteurs associés à ce retard étaient liés au système de soins, à la gestion des prélèvements et des résultats du test VIH. Enfin, dans l’étude EPIPEV, nous avons observé des proportions plus faibles de réponses vaccinales adéquates chez les enfants infectés que non infectés par le VIH, nés de mères séropositives. Cette différence était plus marquée pour le vaccin contre la rougeole (20% vs 60%). Le niveau de réponse observé chez les enfants non infectés nés de mères séropositives était néanmoins faible par rapport à celui attendu chez les enfants en population générale. Ce dernier résultat suggérerait que l’exposition au VIH pendant la grossesse pourrait entrainer un dysfonctionnement immunologique, même en l’absence de transmission du VIH à l’enfant. L’ensemble de ces travaux nous ont permis de cibler certains aspects pour améliorer le processus de prise en charge précoce des nourrissons exposés au VIH, portant sur l’organisation des sites, l’application effective des recommandations établies et la mise en place d’une coordination active. / The world health organization (WHO) recommendation updates regarding care of HIV-infected children reflects new scientific findings in clinical trials. Their implementation in routine practice, especially in resource-limited countries, should consider local operational constraints in order to direct good clinical practice guidelines. We put in place this work in order to evaluate the early care process of HIV-exposed infants aged less than 7 months including: early diagnosis of HIV, initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and immune responses to vaccines administered by the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Our data were collected from two surveys: the current ANRS-PEDIACAM cohort which started in 2007, in three urban hospitals located in Cameroon, and the ACIP-EPIPEV cross sectional study conducted from November 2004 to May 2005, in five urban hospitals based in Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Our results strongly suggested that both early HIV diagnosis and initiation of ART in infants were feasible and well accepted in “real pediatric world urban settings”. Among HIV-exposed infants enrolled in the PEDIACAM study, 89.7% were tested for HIV at a median age of 1.5 months and 83.9% completed the process by returning for the result before 7 months of age. Incomplete process was associated to factors related to the quality of antenatal care and obstetrical emergency than environmental ones. Among HIV-infected infants identified, 83.5% started ART before 7 months of age. However, ART initiation was considered as suboptimal in approximately one third of them. Risk factors associated with this delay were related to the care delivery system, including delays in sample collection and turn around procedures. Finally, the EPIPEV study showed that antibody levels to EPI vaccines in HIV-uninfected children born to HIV-infected mothers were higher compared to levels in HIV-infected children (60% vs 20% concerning measles vaccine), but lower than the levels described for children born to HIV-uninfected mothers. This result suggested an immunological dysfunction of HIV-exposed children which occurred during pregnancy and could affect their survival. Overall, our studies contributed in providing findings that could help in improving early care in HIV-exposed infants. These include the structural and functional organization of health structures, the effective implementation of current recommendations, and of active coordination.