Mortality Across Two ART Trials Enrolling at ≤200 vs ≤350 CD4 cells/uL in Kenya

Authors

Rachel A. Silverman, University of Washington
Michael Chung, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
James N. Kiarie, University of Nairobi
Nelly Yatich, University of Washington
Julia Njoroge, University of Washington
Catherine Kiptiness, University of Washington
Samah Sakr, Coptic Hospital
Grace John-Stewart, University of Washington
Lisa Frenkel, University of Washington

Document Type

Conference Paper

Department

Internal Medicine (East Africa)

Abstract

Background: In 2011, Kenyan HIV treatment guidelines changed from initiating ART at a CD4 of ≤200 to ≤350 cells/uL. We compared 6-month mortality in 2 research cohorts, one enrolled before and one after the 2011 ART initiation guidelines changed. We hypothesized that following the new guidelines, 6-month post-ART mortality would be lower.

Methods: HIV seropositive adults were enrolled in 2 clinical trials at the Coptic Hope Center, Kenya, in 2006 (drug adherence intervention) and 2013 (drug resistance testing intervention, ongoing). In both trials, participants were enrolled prior to ART initiation and started ART following enrollment. Missed visits were investigated to determine if the participant had died using standardized procedures. Linear regression was used to compare mean baseline CD4 count and Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compare 6-month mortality between the two studies. Subjects who enrolled after January 31 2014 were omitted from the analysis.

Results: There were 362 and 379 participants in 2006 and 2013 cohorts with at least 6 months of follow-up time. 25 participants in 2013 and none from 2006 were missing a baseline CD4 count. The proportion of female participants in each cohort was 66% and 37%, in 2006 and 2013 respectively. The distribution of subjects and deaths by study and CD4 count is shown in Table 1. The mean baseline CD4 count was 73 cells/uL higher (95% CI: 56, 89; p

Conclusions: With implementation of guidelines to initiate ART at a CD4 ≤350 cells/uL, the mean CD4 count increased among those accessing care to initiate ART, though 6-month mortality remained approximately the same. Despite new guidelines, many participants initiated ART with dangerously low CD4 counts. Earlier HIV diagnosis and rapid linkage to care is necessary to achieve survival gains from new ART guidelines.

Comments

This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.

Recommended Citation

Silverman, R. A., Chung, M., Kiarie, J. N., Yatich, N., Njoroge, J., Kiptiness, C., Sakr, S., John-Stewart, G., Frenkel, L. (2015). Mortality Across Two ART Trials Enrolling at ≤200 vs ≤350 CD4 cells/uL in Kenya.
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/eastafrica_fhs_mc_intern_med/59