Incidence and predictors of loss to follow-up among adult patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in Central Ethiopia
A multi-center retrospective cohort study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22068515 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Asfaw Anulo (corresponding author), Addisu Girma, Gezahegn Tesfaye (0000-0001-5425-0409, Haramaya University), Fekede Asefa (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Abera Cheru (0009-0009-5790-7520, Haramaya University), Arega Abebe Lonsako (0009-0006-3312-399X, Arba Minch University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Pages | 1374515-1374515 |
| Publication date | 2024-03-13 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1374515 |
| PMID | 38544723 |
| OpenAlex | W4392756232 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 27 |
Background: Globally, loss to follow-up (LTFU) remains a significant public health concern despite the rapid expansion of antiretroviral medication programs. It is a significant cause of treatment failure and threatens the enhancement of HIV treatment outcomes among patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, there is a paucity of evidence on its incidence and predictors in Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to examine the incidence and predictors of LTFU among adult HIV patients receiving ART at hospitals in Central Ethiopia. Methods: A multi-centered facility-based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 432 randomly selected adult patients who received antiretroviral therapy. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and exported to Stata version 14 for analysis. The Kaplan-Meier failure function was employed to determine the overall failure estimates, and the log-rank test was used to compare the probability of failure among the different categories of variables. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify independent predictors of LTFU. Results: Overall, 172 (39.8%) study participants were lost to follow-up over the 10-year follow-up period with an incidence rate of 8.12 (95% CI: 7.11, 9.09) per 1,000 person-months. Undisclosed HIV status (AHR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.14, 3.36), not able to work (AHR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.22), opportunistic infections (AHR: 3.13, 95% CI: 2.17, 4.52), CD4 < 200 cell/mL (AHR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.18, 3.21), not receiving isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) (AHR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.62, 4.06), not participating in clubs (AHR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.22), side effects of drugs (AHR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.04), and high viral load (AHR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.81, 5.47) were identified as significant predictors of loss to follow-up. Conclusion: In this study, the incidence of LTFU was high. The focus should be on creating awareness and prevention programs that aim to reduce loss to follow-up by continuing counseling, especially on the negative effects of loss to follow-up and the benefits of ART care
Antiretroviral therapy · Cohort · Cohort study · Confidence interval · Cumulative incidence · Hazard ratio · Proportional hazards model · Retrospective cohort study · Survival analysis · Viral load · Biological Research and Disease Studies · HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Immunology · Internal Medicine · Pediatrics
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |