Abstract
SETTING
Antiretroviral treatment (ART) Centre in Tumkur district of Karnataka State, India. There is no published information about pre-ART loss to follow-up from India.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the proportion lost to follow-up (defined as not visiting the ART Centre within 1 year of registration) and associated socio-demographic and immunological variables.
DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study involving a review of medical records of adult HIV-infected persons (aged ⩾15 years) registered in pre-ART care during January 2010-June 2012.
RESULTS
Of 3238 patients registered, 2519 (78%) were eligible for ART, while 719 (22%) were not. Four of the latter were transferred out; the remaining 715 individuals were enrolled in pre-ART care, of whom 290 (41%) were lost to follow-up. Factors associated with loss to follow-up on multivariate analysis included age group ⩾45 years, low educational level, not being married, World Health Organization Stage III or IV and rural residence.
CONCLUSION
About four in 10 individuals in pre-ART care were lost to follow-up within 1 year of registration. This needs urgent attention. Routine cohort analysis in the national programme should include those in pre-ART care to enable improved review, monitoring and supervision. Further qualitative research to ascertain reasons for loss to follow-up is required to design future interventions.
