Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
AIDS Behav. 31 July 2022; Online ahead of print; DOI:10.1007/s10461-022-03772-9
Cassidy T, Cornell M, Makeleni B, Horsburgh CR, Trivino Duran L, et al.
AIDS Behav. 31 July 2022; Online ahead of print; DOI:10.1007/s10461-022-03772-9
Men have higher rates of attrition from antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs than women. In Khayelitsha, a high HIV prevalence area in South Africa, two public sector primary healthcare clinics offer services, including HIV testing and treatment, exclusively to men. We compared attrition from ART care among men initiating ART at these clinics with male attrition in six general primary healthcare clinics in Khayelitsha. We described baseline characteristics of patients initiating ART at the male and general clinics from 1 January 2014 to 31 March 2018. We used exposure propensity scores (generated based on baseline health and age) to match male clinic patients 1:1 to males at other clinics. The association between attrition (death or loss to follow-up, defined as no visits for nine months) and clinic type was estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Follow-up time began at ART initiation and ended at attrition, clinic transfer, or dataset closure. Before matching, patients from male clinics (n = 784) were younger than males from general clinics (n = 2726), median age: 31.2 vs 35.5 years. Those initiating at male clinics had higher median CD4 counts at ART initiation [Male Clinic 1: 329 (IQR 210–431), Male Clinic 2: 364 (IQR 260–536), general clinics 258 (IQR 145–398), cells/ mm3. In the matched analysis (1451 person-years, 1568 patients) patients initiating ART at male clinics had lower attrition (HR 0.71; 95% CI 0.60–0.85). In separate analyses for each of the two male clinics, only the more established male clinic showed a protective effect. Male-only clinics reached younger, healthier men, and had lower ART attrition than general services. These findings support clinic-specific adaptations to create more male-friendly environments.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
S Afr Med J. 1 September 2009
Cornell M, Technau KG, Fairall L, Wood R, Moultrie H, et al.
S Afr Med J. 1 September 2009
OBJECTIVES: To introduce the combined South African cohorts of the International epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS Southern Africa (IeDEA-SA) collaboration as reflecting the South African national antiretroviral treatment (ART) programme; to characterise patients accessing these services; and to describe changes in services and patients from 2003 to 2007. DESIGN AND SETTING: Multi-cohort study of 11 ART programmes in Gauteng, Western Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. SUBJECTS: Adults and children (<16 years old) who initiated ART with > or =3 antiretroviral drugs before 2008. RESULTS: Most sites were offering free treatment to adults and children in the public sector, ranging from 264 to 17,835 patients per site. Among 45,383 adults and 6,198 children combined, median age (interquartile range) was 35.0 years (29.8-41.4) and 42.5 months (14.7-82.5), respectively. Of adults, 68% were female. The median CD4 cell count was 102 cells/microl (44-164) and was lower among males than females (86, 34-150 v. 110, 50-169, p<0.001). Median CD4% among children was 12% (7-17.7). Between 2003 and 2007, enrolment increased 11-fold in adults and 3-fold in children. Median CD4 count at enrolment increased for all adults (67-111 cells/microl, p<0.001) and for those in stage IV (39-89 cells/microl, p<0.001). Among children <5 years, baseline CD4% increased over time (11.5-16.0%, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: IeDEA-SA provides a unique opportunity to report on the national ART programme. The study describes dramatically increased enrolment over time. Late diagnosis and ART initiation, especially of men and children, need attention. Investment in sentinel sites will ensure good individual-level data while freeing most sites to continue with simplified reporting.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
AIDS. 10 September 2010; Volume 24 (Issue 14); DOI:10.1097/QAD.0b013e32833d45c5
Cornell M, Grimsrud A, Fairall L, Fox MP, van Cutsem G, et al.
AIDS. 10 September 2010; Volume 24 (Issue 14); DOI:10.1097/QAD.0b013e32833d45c5
OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the temporal impact of the rapid scale-up of large antiretroviral therapy (ART) services on programme outcomes. We describe patient outcomes [mortality, loss-to-follow-up (LTFU) and retention] over time in a network of South African ART cohorts. DESIGN: Cohort analysis utilizing routinely collected patient data. METHODS: Analysis included adults initiating ART in eight public sector programmes across South Africa, 2002-2007. Follow-up was censored at the end of 2008. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to estimate time to outcomes, and proportional hazards models to examine independent predictors of outcomes. RESULTS: Enrolment (n = 44 177, mean age 35 years; 68% women) increased 12-fold over 5 years, with 63% of patients enrolled in the past 2 years. Twelve-month mortality decreased from 9% to 6% over 5 years. Twelve-month LTFU increased annually from 1% (2002/2003) to 13% (2006). Cumulative LTFU increased with follow-up from 14% at 12 months to 29% at 36 months. With each additional year on ART, failure to retain participants was increasingly attributable to LTFU compared with recorded mortality. At 12 and 36 months, respectively, 80 and 64% of patients were retained. CONCLUSION: Numbers on ART have increased rapidly in South Africa, but the programme has experienced deteriorating patient retention over time, particularly due to apparent LTFU. This may represent true loss to care, but may also reflect administrative error and lack of capacity to monitor movements in and out of care. New strategies are needed for South Africa and other low-income and middle-income countries to improve monitoring of outcomes and maximize retention in care with increasing programme size.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1 June 2011; Volume 57 (Issue 2); DOI:10.1097/QAI.0b013e3182199ee9
Lawn SD, Campbell L, Kaplan R, Boulle AM, Cornell M, et al.
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1 June 2011; Volume 57 (Issue 2); DOI:10.1097/QAI.0b013e3182199ee9
We studied the time interval between starting tuberculosis treatment and commencing antiretroviral treatment (ART) in HIV-infected patients (n = 1433; median CD4 count 71 cells per microliter, interquartile range: 32-132) attending 3 South African township ART services between 2002 and 2008. The overall median delay was 2.66 months (interquartile range: 1.58-4.17). In adjusted analyses, delays varied between treatment sites but were shorter for patients with lower CD4 counts and those treated in more recent calendar years. During the most recent period (2007-2008), 4.7%, 19.7%, and 51.1% of patients started ART within 2, 4, and 8 weeks of tuberculosis treatment, respectively. Operational barriers must be tackled to permit further acceleration of ART initiation as recommended by 2010 WHO ART guidelines.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
J Int AIDS Soc. 25 January 2022; Volume 25 (Issue 1); e25854.; DOI:10.1002/jia2.25854
Cassidy T, Cornell M, Runeyi P, Dutyulwa T, Kilani C, et al.
J Int AIDS Soc. 25 January 2022; Volume 25 (Issue 1); e25854.; DOI:10.1002/jia2.25854
INTRODUCTION
Youth living with HIV (YLWH) are less likely to initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) and remain in care than older adults. It is important to identify effective strategies to address the needs of this growing population and prevent attrition from HIV care. Since 2008, two clinics have offered youth-targeted services exclusively to youth aged 12-25 in Khayelitsha, a high HIV-prevalence, low-income area in South Africa. We compared ART attrition among youth in these two clinics to youth in regular clinics in the same area.
METHODS
We conducted a propensity score matched cohort study of individuals aged 12-25 years initiating ART at eight primary care clinics in Khayelitsha between 1 January 2008 and 1 April 2018. We compared attrition, defined as death or loss to follow-up, between those attending two youth clinics and those attending general primary healthcare clinics, using Cox proportional hazards regression. Follow-up time began at ART initiation and ended at attrition, clinic transfer or dataset closure. We conducted sub-analyses of patients attending adherence clubs.
RESULTS
The distribution of age, sex and CD4 count at ART initiation was similar across Youth Clinic A (N = 1383), Youth Clinic B (N = 1299) and general clinics (N = 3056). Youth at youth clinics were more likely than those at general clinics to have initiated ART before August 2011 (Youth Clinic A: 16%, Youth Clinic B: 23% and general clinics: 11%). Youth clinics were protective against attrition: HR 0.81 (95% CI: 0.71-0.92) for Youth Clinic A and 0.85 (0.74-0.98) for Youth Clinic B, compared to general clinics. Youth Clinic A club patients had lower attrition after joining an adherence club than general clinic patients in adherence clubs (crude HR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.32-0.96; adjusted HR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.28-0.85), while Youth Clinic B showed no effect (crude HR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.48-1.45; adjusted HR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.60-1.90).
CONCLUSIONS
YLWH were more likely to be retained in ART care in two different youth-targeted clinics compared to general clinics in the same area. Our findings suggest that multiple approaches to making clinics more youth-friendly can contribute to improving retention in this important group.
Youth living with HIV (YLWH) are less likely to initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) and remain in care than older adults. It is important to identify effective strategies to address the needs of this growing population and prevent attrition from HIV care. Since 2008, two clinics have offered youth-targeted services exclusively to youth aged 12-25 in Khayelitsha, a high HIV-prevalence, low-income area in South Africa. We compared ART attrition among youth in these two clinics to youth in regular clinics in the same area.
METHODS
We conducted a propensity score matched cohort study of individuals aged 12-25 years initiating ART at eight primary care clinics in Khayelitsha between 1 January 2008 and 1 April 2018. We compared attrition, defined as death or loss to follow-up, between those attending two youth clinics and those attending general primary healthcare clinics, using Cox proportional hazards regression. Follow-up time began at ART initiation and ended at attrition, clinic transfer or dataset closure. We conducted sub-analyses of patients attending adherence clubs.
RESULTS
The distribution of age, sex and CD4 count at ART initiation was similar across Youth Clinic A (N = 1383), Youth Clinic B (N = 1299) and general clinics (N = 3056). Youth at youth clinics were more likely than those at general clinics to have initiated ART before August 2011 (Youth Clinic A: 16%, Youth Clinic B: 23% and general clinics: 11%). Youth clinics were protective against attrition: HR 0.81 (95% CI: 0.71-0.92) for Youth Clinic A and 0.85 (0.74-0.98) for Youth Clinic B, compared to general clinics. Youth Clinic A club patients had lower attrition after joining an adherence club than general clinic patients in adherence clubs (crude HR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.32-0.96; adjusted HR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.28-0.85), while Youth Clinic B showed no effect (crude HR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.48-1.45; adjusted HR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.60-1.90).
CONCLUSIONS
YLWH were more likely to be retained in ART care in two different youth-targeted clinics compared to general clinics in the same area. Our findings suggest that multiple approaches to making clinics more youth-friendly can contribute to improving retention in this important group.
Journal Article > LetterAbstract
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1 June 2015; Volume 70 (Issue 1); DOI:10.1097/QAI.0000000000000706
Grimsrud A, Wilkinson LS, Cornell M
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1 June 2015; Volume 70 (Issue 1); DOI:10.1097/QAI.0000000000000706
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1 August 2010; Volume 54 (Issue 5); DOI:10.1097/QAI.0b013e3181e0c4cf
Fenner L, Brinkhof MW, Keiser O, Weigel R, Cornell M, et al.
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1 August 2010; Volume 54 (Issue 5); DOI:10.1097/QAI.0b013e3181e0c4cf
BACKGROUND: Many HIV-infected children in Southern Africa have been started on antiretroviral therapy (ART), but loss to follow up (LTFU) can be substantial. We analyzed mortality in children retained in care and in all children starting ART, taking LTFU into account. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Children who started ART before the age of 16 years in 10 ART programs in South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe were included. Risk factors for death in the first year of ART were identified in Weibull models. A meta-analytic approach was used to estimate cumulative mortality at 1 year. RESULTS: Eight thousand two hundred twenty-five children (median age 49 months, median CD4 cell percent 11.6%) were included; 391 (4.8%) died and 523 (7.0%) were LTFU in the first year. Mortality at 1 year was 4.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.8% to 7.4%] in children remaining in care, but 8.7% (5.4% to 12.1%) at the program level, after taking mortality in children and LTFU into account. Factors associated with mortality in children remaining in care included age [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.37; 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.54 comparing > or =120 months with <18 months], CD4 cell percent (HR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.39 to 0.78 comparing > or =20% with <10%), and clinical stage (HR: 0.12; 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.45 comparing World Health Organization stage I with III/IV). CONCLUSIONS: In children starting ART and remaining in care in Southern Africa mortality at 1 year is <5% but almost twice as high at the program level, when taking LTFU into account. Age, CD4 percentage, and clinical stage are important predictors of mortality at the individual level.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
PLOS Med. 9 April 2013; Volume 10 (Issue 4); DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001418
Johnson LF, Mossong J, Dorrington R, Schomaker M, Hoffman CJ, et al.
PLOS Med. 9 April 2013; Volume 10 (Issue 4); DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001418
Few estimates exist of the life expectancy of HIV-positive adults receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to estimate the life expectancy of patients starting ART in South Africa and compare it with that of HIV-negative adults.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
J Int AIDS Soc. 14 May 2020; Volume 23 (Issue 5); DOI:10.1002/jia2.25476
Kehoe K, Boulle AM, Tsondai PR, Euvrard J, Davies MA, et al.
J Int AIDS Soc. 14 May 2020; Volume 23 (Issue 5); DOI:10.1002/jia2.25476
Introduction
In South Africa, an estimated 4.6 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2018. As universal Test and Treat is implemented, these numbers will continue to increase. Given the need for lifelong care for millions of individuals, differentiated service delivery models for ART services such as adherence clubs (ACs) for stable patients are required. In this study, we describe long‐term virologic outcomes of patients who have ever entered ACs in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
Methods
We included adult patients enrolled in ACs in Khayelitsha between January 2011 and December 2016 with a recorded viral load (VL) before enrolment. Risk factors for an elevated VL (VL >1000 copies/mL) and confirmed virologic failure (two consecutive VLs >1000 copies/mL one year apart) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. VL completeness over time was assessed.
Results
Overall, 8058 patients were included in the analysis, contributing 16,047 person‐years of follow‐up from AC entry (median follow‐up time 1.7 years, interquartile range [IQR]:0.9 to 2.9). At AC entry, 74% were female, 46% were aged between 35 and 44 years, and the median duration on ART was 4.8 years (IQR: 3.0 to 7.2). Among patients virologically suppressed at AC entry (n = 8058), 7136 (89%) had a subsequent VL test, of which 441 (6%) experienced an elevated VL (median time from AC entry 363 days, IQR: 170 to 728). Older age (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46 to 0.88), more recent year of AC entry (aHR 0.76, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.84) and higher CD4 count (aHR 0.67, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.84) were protective against experiencing an elevated VL. Among patients with an elevated VL, 52% (150/291) with a repeat VL test subsequently experienced confirmed virologic failure in a median time of 112 days (IQR: 56 to 168). Frequency of VL testing was constant over time (82 to 85%), with over 90% of patients remaining virologically suppressed.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates low prevalence of elevated VLs and confirmed virologic failure among patients who entered ACs. Although ACs were expanded rapidly, most patients were well monitored and remained stable, supporting the continued rollout of this model.
In South Africa, an estimated 4.6 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2018. As universal Test and Treat is implemented, these numbers will continue to increase. Given the need for lifelong care for millions of individuals, differentiated service delivery models for ART services such as adherence clubs (ACs) for stable patients are required. In this study, we describe long‐term virologic outcomes of patients who have ever entered ACs in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
Methods
We included adult patients enrolled in ACs in Khayelitsha between January 2011 and December 2016 with a recorded viral load (VL) before enrolment. Risk factors for an elevated VL (VL >1000 copies/mL) and confirmed virologic failure (two consecutive VLs >1000 copies/mL one year apart) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. VL completeness over time was assessed.
Results
Overall, 8058 patients were included in the analysis, contributing 16,047 person‐years of follow‐up from AC entry (median follow‐up time 1.7 years, interquartile range [IQR]:0.9 to 2.9). At AC entry, 74% were female, 46% were aged between 35 and 44 years, and the median duration on ART was 4.8 years (IQR: 3.0 to 7.2). Among patients virologically suppressed at AC entry (n = 8058), 7136 (89%) had a subsequent VL test, of which 441 (6%) experienced an elevated VL (median time from AC entry 363 days, IQR: 170 to 728). Older age (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46 to 0.88), more recent year of AC entry (aHR 0.76, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.84) and higher CD4 count (aHR 0.67, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.84) were protective against experiencing an elevated VL. Among patients with an elevated VL, 52% (150/291) with a repeat VL test subsequently experienced confirmed virologic failure in a median time of 112 days (IQR: 56 to 168). Frequency of VL testing was constant over time (82 to 85%), with over 90% of patients remaining virologically suppressed.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates low prevalence of elevated VLs and confirmed virologic failure among patients who entered ACs. Although ACs were expanded rapidly, most patients were well monitored and remained stable, supporting the continued rollout of this model.
Journal Article > CommentaryFull Text
Trop Med Int Health. 31 August 2015; Volume 20 (Issue 12); DOI:10.1111/tmi.12593
Cornell M, Cox V, Wilkinson LS
Trop Med Int Health. 31 August 2015; Volume 20 (Issue 12); DOI:10.1111/tmi.12593