Tuberculosis Preventative Therapy Initiation and Completion Among Adolescents and Young Adults Living With HIV in Kenya.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults living with HIV (YWHIV) and their heightened risk warrants deeper understanding of utilization of tuberculosis-prevention measures within HIV care. SETTING: Retrospective study using clinic surveys and medical record data from 86 Kenyan HIV clinics. METHODS: Clinic surveys obtained information on tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT) services. Medical records of YWHIV were abstracted. Bivariate and multivariate analyses used generalized linear models to determine individual-level and clinic-level cofactors of TPT initiation and completion. RESULTS: Among 10,328 eligible YWHIV, 4337 (42.0%) initiated TPT. Of 3295 with ≥6 months follow-up, 1774 (53.8%) completed TPT. A lower patient-to-staff ratio was a clinic-level cofactor of TPT initiation ( P = 0.044) and completion ( P = 0.004); designated adolescent areas were associated with TPT initiation {prevalence ratio 2.05 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46 to -2.88]}. Individual cofactors of TPT initiation included younger age at HIV-care enrollment [relative risk (RR) 0.85 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.90)] and antiretroviral therapy (ART) duration [1-2 vs. <1 year RR 1.31 (95% CI 1.18 to 1.45)]. TPT completion was associated with younger age [RR 0.91 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.98)] and ART duration [2-5 vs. <1 year RR 1.27 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.57)]. In multivariate models, TPT initiation was associated with younger age and ART duration [1-2 vs. 1 year; adjusted RR 1.30 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.46)] and TPT completion with ART duration [2-5 vs. 1 year adjusted RR 1.23 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.52)]. CONCLUSION: Over half of YWHIV did not initiate and >40% did not complete TPT, with distinct clinic-level and individual-level cofactors. Approaches to enhance adolescent-friendly infrastructure and support older YWHIV are necessary to improve TPT use.