Hospitalization in South African Adolescents With Perinatally Acquired HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy

Causes of hospitalisation among people living with HIV worldwide, 2014-23: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Despite improved access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-related morbidity and mortality remain high. A previous review (2007-14) found that AIDS-related illnesses were the leading causes of hospitalisations. We aimed to summarise the causes of hospitalisations among people living with HIV from 2014 to 2023.

METHODS

For this meta-analysis we searched eight databases (Ovid Medline ALL, Ovid Embase Classic and Ovid Embase, Ovid Global Health, EBSCOhost CINAHL Complete, EBSCOhost Africa-Wide Information, Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Content, Clarivate Analytics Web of Science SciELO, and Global Index Medicus) on April 26, 2023. We included studies of any design that reported on the cause of admission to hospital for at least 20 people after Jan 1, 2014. We extracted summary-level data about CD4 cell counts, ART use, cause of admission, and incidence of death, and assessed risk of bias with the use of a modified Newcastle-Ottowa Scale. We constructed random effects models to estimate prevalence of various diseases as a cause of hospital admission.

FINDINGS

From the 19 629 records identified, we obtained data from 110 studies representing 100 628 hospital admissions. The weighted median CD4 count was 111 cells per μL (range of medians 25-713); 60% of admissions (95% Cl 54-66) were people receiving ART. The most common cause of admission was AIDS-related illnesses (42% of admissions, 95% CI 35-49), including tuberculosis (19%, 15-23). The second most common cause was bacterial infection (26%, 20-33). AIDS-related illnesses were more common in WHO regions of South and Central America (62%, 53-71), Africa (49%, 39-60), Western Pacific (68%, 57-77), and South-East Asia (40%, 31-50) than in Europe (30%, 23-37) and North America (13%, 6-25). Wasting and parasitic infections were more common in children (malnutrition 31%, 11-63; parasitic infection 13%, 4-37) than in adults. In-hospital mortality was 17% (13-20), with substantial regional variation.

INTERPRETATION

Our results indicate providing high-quality care to hospitalised people with HIV-related conditions (AIDS-related illness and severe bacterial infections) should be prioritised.

FUNDING

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Diagnoses of children living with HIV before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

There is limited data on diagnoses during hospital stay among children living with HIV(CLHIV) in the antiretroviral and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to describe hospital diagnoses and clinical characteristics of CLHIV before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

A retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was performed. Clinical and laboratory data were retrieved by reviewing folders and discharge summaries from January 2019 to December 2021. Period A (pre-COVID-19) was defined as the period from January 2019 to March 2020. Period B (During COVID-19) was defined as being from April 2020 to December 2021.

Results

Ninety-six children contributed 215 diagnoses over the study period. The five most common diagnoses were unspecified HIV disease (47/215, 21.9%), tuberculosis (TB) (42/215, 19.5%), pneumonia (13/215, 6.0%), encephalopathy (11/215, 5.1%) and malnutrition (11/215, 5.1%). Median CD4 count was 377 cells/mm (IQR 126, 726) and 8.0% of the children were virally suppressed. Ninety-five per cent of the children had WHO Stage 3 and 4 (95%) disease and 12.5% of children required ICU admission. No child was diagnosed with COVID-19 despite universal screening. Moreover, 81.7% of the children had a social worker referral documented.

Conclusion

Advanced HIV disease (AHD) remains prevalent with TB being the most common diagnosis. There were no cases of COVID-19 recorded in CLHIV.

Contribution

The findings provide a description of the diagnoses of CLHIV in the South African setting prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the need for more specific documentation of diagnoses to inform better prevention of AHD in children.

Self-transfers, Hospital Admissions and Mortality Among Children and Adolescents Lost to Follow-up From Antiretroviral Therapy Programs in the Western Cape, South Africa Between 2004 and 2019: Linkage to Provincial Records

BACKGROUND

Pediatric programs face a high rate of loss to follow-up (LTFU) among children and adolescents living with HIV (CAHIV). We assessed true outcomes and predictors of these among CAHIV who were LTFU using linkage to the Western Cape Provincial Health Data Centre at Western Cape sites of the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS-Southern Africa collaboration.

METHODS

We examined factors associated with self-transfer, hospital admission and mortality using competing risks regression in a retrospective cohort of CAHIV initiating antiretroviral therapy <15 years old between 2004 and 2019 and deemed LTFU (no recorded visit at the original facility for ≥180 days from the last visit date before database closure and not known to have officially transferred out or deceased).

RESULTS

Of the 1720 CAHIV deemed LTFU, 802 (46.6%) had self-transferred and were receiving care elsewhere within the Western Cape, 463 (26.9%) had been hospitalized and 45 (2.6%) CAHIV had died. The overall rates of self-transfer, hospitalization, mortality and LTFU were 9.4 [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.8-10.1], 5.4 (95% CI: 5.0-6.0), 0.5 (95% CI: 0.4-0.7) and 4.8 (95% CI: 4.4-5.3) per 100 person-years respectively. Increasing duration on antiretroviral therapy before LTFU was associated with self-transfers while male sex, older age at last visit (≥10 years vs. younger) were associated with hospital admission and immune suppression at last visit was associated with 5 times higher mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly half of CAHIV classified as LTFU had self-transferred to another health facility, a quarter had been hospitalized and a small proportion had died.

Hospitalization among infants who initiate antiretroviral therapy before 3 months of age

INTRODUCTION

Studies examining hospitalization among infants with HIV in resource-limited settings, in the context of early infant diagnosis and early antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, are limited.

METHODS

We used routinely collected data on infants who initiated ART aged <3 months (Western Cape province, South Africa; 2013-2017) to describe hospitalization from birth until 12 months post-ART initiation. Record reviews were additionally performed at three tertiary-level facilities. We used mixed-effects Poisson regression to examine factors associated with hospitalization.

RESULTS

Among 840 infants, 579 (69%) were hospitalized; 36% had >1 hospitalization. Median age at ART initiation decreased from 57 days (interquartile range [IQR] 22-74; 2013-2015) to 19 days (IQR 5-54; 2016-2017). Early neonatal hospitalization (age <7 days) occurred in 271 infants (32%) and represented 24% of hospitalizations (272/1131). Overall, 443 infants (53%) were hospitalized at age ≥7 days, including 13% with hospitalizations pre-ART initiation, 15% pre and post-ART initiation and 25% post-ART initiation. Excluding early neonatal hospitalizations, initiating ART at older age vs. age <1 week was associated with higher hospitalization rates: adjusted incidence rate ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.86 (1.31-2.64); 2.31 (1.62-3.29) and 2.47 (1.76-3.46) if ART initiation age was 1-4 weeks; 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks respectively. Among infants whose hospital records were reviewed, reasons for early neonatal hospitalizations mostly related to prematurity or low birthweight (n = 46/60; 77%) whereas hospitalizations at age ≥7 days were mostly due to infections (n = 206/243; 85%).

CONCLUSIONS

Earlier ART initiation is associated with lower hospitalization rates. High hospitalization rates, despite initiation age <3 months, is concerning.