Antiretroviral treatment changes in adults from Côte d'Ivoire: the roles of tuberculosis and pregnancy.

Objective: To determine the rates and causes of first antiretroviral treatment changes in HIV-infected adults in Côte d'Ivoire.

Methods: We evaluated adults who initiated antiretroviral treatment in an outpatient clinic in Abidjan. We recorded baseline and follow-up data, including drug prescriptions and reasons for changing to alternative first-line regimens (drug substitution for any reason but failure) or second-line regimens (switch for failure).

HIV-1 DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is strongly associated with HIV-1 disease progression in recently infected West African adults.

Objective: To analyze the association between the HIV-1 DNA level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and disease progression in recently infected West African adults.

Methods: HIV-1 DNA levels were measured in the PBMCs of 200 adults in the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and viral Hepatitis (ANRS) 1220 cohort who had recently been infected with HIV-1. The association between baseline HIV-1 DNA levels and disease progression was analyzed using multivariate Cox regression.

Rapid scaling-up of antiretroviral therapy in 10,000 adults in Côte d'Ivoire: 2-year outcomes and determinants.

Objective: To assess the rates and determinants of mortality, loss to follow-up and immunological failure in a nongovernmental organization-implemented program of access to antiretroviral treatment in Côte d'Ivoire.

Methods: In each new treatment center, professionals were trained in HIV care, and a computerized data system was implemented. Individual patient and program level determinants of survival, loss to follow-up and immunological failure were assessed by multivariate analysis.

Progression to WHO criteria for antiretroviral therapy in a 7-year cohort of adult HIV-1 seroconverters in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Objective: To estimate the probability of reaching the criteria for starting highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in a prospective cohort of adult HIV-1 seroconverters in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Methods: We recruited participants from HIV-positive donors at the blood bank of Abidjan for whom the delay since the estimated date of seroconversion (midpoint between last negative and first positive HIV-1 test) was < 36 months. Participants were offered early trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (cotrimoxazole) prophylaxis, twice-yearly measurement of CD4 count and we made standardized records of morbidity.