Viral suppression in the era of transition to dolutegravir-based therapy in Cameroon: Children at high risk of virological failure due to the lowly transition in pediatrics.

This study aimed to compare viral suppression (VS) between children, adolescents, and adults in the frame of transition to dolutegravir (DTG)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the Cameroonian context. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2021 through May 2022 amongst ART-experienced patients received at the Chantal BIYA International Reference Centre in Yaounde-Cameroon, for viral load (VL) monitoring. VS was defined as VL < 1000 copies/mL and viral undetectability as VL < 50 copies/mL. Chi-square and multivariate binary logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with VS. Data were analyzed using SPSS v.20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois), with P < .05 considered significant. A total of 9034 patients (72.2% females) were enrolled. In all, there were 8585 (95.0%) adults, 227 (2.5%) adolescents, and 222 (2.5%) children; 1627 (18.0%) were on non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase-based, 290 (3.2%) on PI-based, and 7117 (78.8%) on DTG-based ART. Of those on DTG-based ART, only 82 (1.2%) were children, 138 (1.9%) adolescents, and 6897 (96.9%) adults. Median (interquartile range) duration on ART was 24 (12-72) months (24 months on Tenofovir + Lamivudine + Dolutegravir [TLD], 36 months on other first lines, and 84 months on protease inhibitors boosted with ritonavir-based regimens). Overall, VS was 89.8% (95% confidence interval: 89.2-90.5) and viral undetectability was 75.7% (95% confidence interval: 74.8-76.7). Based on ART regimen, VS on Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase-based, protease inhibitors boosted with ritonavir-based, and DTG-based therapy was respectively 86.4%, 59.7%, and 91.8%, P < .0001. Based on ART duration, VS was respectively 51.7% (≤24 months) versus 48.3% (≥25 months), P < .0001. By gender, VS was 90.9% (5929) in females versus 87.0% (2183) in males, P < .0001; by age-range, VS moved from 64.8% (144) in children, 74.4% (169) adolescents, to 90.8% (7799) adults, P < .0001. Following multivariate analysis, VS was associated with adulthood, female gender, TLD regimens, and combination antiretroviral therapy duration > 24 months (P < .05). In Cameroon, ART response indicates encouraging rates of VS (about 9/10) and viral undetectability (about 3/4), driven essentially by access to TLD based regimens. However, ART response was very poor in children, underscoring the need for scaling-up pediatric DTG-based regimens.

HIV-1 Early Infant Diagnosis is an Effective Indicator of the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission Program Performance: Experience from Cameroon.

BACKGROUND: Despite improvement in HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), there are still over 1,500 African infants newly infected daily. PMTCT elimination requires antiretroviral therapy (ART) throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding periods, while early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV implies early treatment for those infected. Our study aimed at assessing the utility of EID program data in evaluating the implementation of PMTCT program in Cameroon, and in identifying the efficacy of existing PMTCT interventions and breastfeeding options on the events of HIV vertical transmission. METHODS: A study was conducted from 2010-2011 using PMTCT data from EID sites of six regions of Cameroon. PMTCT ARV regimens, breastfeeding options, and the child's HIV DNA-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results were recorded. Statistical analyses were performed using Mann Whitney U and Fisher exact tests, with p<0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 2,505 mother-child pairs received ART, resulting is 4.3% (93) vertical transmission, against 31.3% (284/906) among mother-child pairs without exposure to any PMTCT intervention; p<0.00001. A statistically significant difference (p<0.00001) was also found between formula feeding (FF) (5.9%) versus exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) (12.5%), as well as between EBF versus mixed feeding (MF) (30%). With FF, when both mother-child pairs received PMTCT, only 2.9% (47/1603) vertical transmission was recorded versus 19.9% (48/241) for mother-child pairs without intervention; p<0.00001. Transmission rates were similar across infant age range [2.7% (10/376) for age ≤6 weeks, versus 2.5% (43/1807) for age >6 weeks-6 months]. Interestingly, babies aged 6 weeks receiving FF showed a significantly lower transmission rate (3.2%, 9/277) as compared to their counterparts with EBF (7.7%, 12/156); p<0.00001. CONCLUSION: Using EID dataset, it appears that considerable reduction in HIV MTCT may be achievable through access to ARV (option B+) and adequate infant feeding option (especially FF) in Cameroon. EID programme is therefore an effective routine approach for PMTCT programme evaluation in resource-limited settings.