ORIGINAL ARTICLE Long-term outcomes of a pediatric HIV treatment program in Maputo, Mozambique: a cohort study

Objective: To describe long-term treatment outcomes of a pediatric HIV cohort in Mozambique. Design: Retrospective analysis of routine monitoring data. Setting: Secondary health care facilities in the Chamanculo Health District of Maputo. Subjects: A total of 1,335 antiretroviral treatment (ART) naı̈ve children B15 years of age enrolled in HIV care between 2002 and 2010. Intervention: HIV care, ART (since 2003), task shifting to lower cadre nurses, counseling by lay counselors, active patient tracing, nutritional support, support by a psychologist, targeted viral load testing, and switch to second-line treatment. Main outcome measures: KaplanMeier estimates for retention in care (RIC), CD4 cell percentage, body mass index for age z-score, and adjusted incidence rate ratios for attrition (death or loss to follow-up) as calculated by Poisson regression. Results: The RIC at 6 years in the pre-ART cohort was 44 % (95 % confidence interval: 3849), and the one at 8 years in the ART cohort was 70 % (6475). Risk factors for attrition included young age, low CD4 percentage, underweight, active tuberculosis, and enrollment/treatment initiation after 2006. The mean CD4 percentage increased strongly at 1 year on treatment and remained high thereafter. The body mass index for age z-score sharply increased at 1 year after treatment initiation before stabilizing at pre-ART levels thereafter. Conclusions: Good clinical and immunological treatment outcomes up to 8 years of follow-up on ART can be achieved in a context of shortage of health workers and a high level of task-shifting approach