Published December 5, 2024
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Outcomes of HIV-infected children on antiretroviral therapy for at least 10 years at the Essos Hospital Centre, Cameroon: contributing to the elimination of paediatric AIDS in tropical settings.

Creators

  • 1. Departement of Paediatrics, National Social Welfare Hospital, Essos, Yaoundé, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 2. Departement of Clinical Sciences, Higher Institute of Medical Technology, University of Douala, Yaoundé, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 3. Research Department, Health Ebene Consulting, Yaoundé, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 4. Virology Laboratory, Chantal BIYA International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 5. Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Buea, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 6. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 7. National HIV Drug Resistance Prevention and Surveillance Working Group, Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 8. Permanent Secretariat, Central Technical Group, National AIDS Control Committee, Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 9. EUROPBIOPARK and UNESCO Board of Multidisciplinary Biotechnology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, 00045, Italy.
  • 10. University of Rome Tor Vergata
  • 11. Faculty of Science and Technology, Evangelic University of Cameroon, Bandjoun, 99322, Cameroon.
  • 12. Bambino Gèsu Pediatric Hospital, Rome, 00045, Italy.
  • 13. African Population and Health Research Centre, Dakar, Dakar 12500, Senegal.

Description

Evidence on long-term outcomes of children receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is of utmost importance to optimize current and future therapeutic strategies for HIV. We sought to ascertain the long-term responses among ART-experienced children and their potential implications. A retrospective, observational, facility-based cohort study was conducted among 136 ART-experienced children monitored for 10 years (2007-2017) at the Essos Hospital Centre in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Primary outcomes were good clinical response defined as the World Health Organization (WHO) clinical stage 1/2, immune restoration as CD4 >500 cells/mm3, viral suppression (VS) as viral load (VL)  .05). In this LMIC, long-term outcomes of children on ART appear encouraging, characterized by moderate VS rate and immune recovery. However, challenges in achieving viral undetectability indicate continuous viral replication and risks of drug resistance emergence that may jeopardize effectiveness of future paediatric ART strategies.
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