Predictors of Mortality Among Adult HIV-Infected Patients Taking Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in Harari Hospitals, Ethiopia

Abdi Birhanu,1 Tariku Dingeta,2 Moti Tolera2 1School of Medicine, College of Health and Medical Science, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia; 2School of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Science, Haramaya University, Harar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Abdi BirhanuSchool of Medicine, College of Health and Medical Science, Haramaya University, PO Box: 235, Harar, EthiopiaTel +251917094058Email abdiibiree@gmail.comIntroduction: Despite the world has made efforts, the reduction of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) related mortality by giving antiretroviral therapy (ART), still HIV/AIDS is killing people while they are on ART. However, the current progress and associated factors of mortality among ART-taking patients are hardly available. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine predictors of mortality among HIV-infected adult patients after starting antiretroviral therapy in Harar Hospitals, Harari region, Ethiopia.Methods: A facility-based retrospective cohort study was employed with randomly selected 610 medical records of HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to identify predictors of mortality using multivariate Cox proportional hazard model.Results: Among 610 medical records analyzed with a total of 1410.7 follow-up years, 67 (11%) deaths were found giving an overall mortality rate of 4.75 per 100 person-years. The independent predictor of mortality identified was ambulatory/bedridden functional status (AHR=2.48; 95% CI: 1.43– 4.28), taking other than Tenofovir-based regimen (AHR=2.5,95% CI; 1.04– 5.94), not taking isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) (AHR=2.8; 95% CI: 1.61,4.71), hemoglobin < 11g/dl (AHR=3.33,95% CI 1.94– 5.69), and poor adherence to ART (AHR= 3.62, 95% CI: 1.87– 7.0).Conclusion: This study demonstrated that poor ART adherence, not taking IPT, and initiating ART with a non-Tenofovir-based regimen and low hemoglobin count were significantly associated with the risk of death. For this reason, addressing these all significant predictors is essential to prevent early death.Keywords: predictors, mortality, HIV, ART, adult, Ethiopi