Results of rapid and successful integration of HIV diagnosis and care into tuberculosis services in Benin.

Setting: Benin, where 20 of 54 tuberculosis (TB) clinics caring for 80% of all TB patients began providing integrated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care in 2005.

Objective: To describe the characteristics and TB treatment outcomes of the first cohorts of TB-HIV patients, and to assess programmatic outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study using data from the TB register and the register of co-infected patients.

Results: During the study period, 8368 TB patients were registered, 7787 (93%) were tested for HIV and 1255 (16%) were HIV-positive, including 385 (32%) who already knew their positive status. Most patients (88%) were tested within 15 days of TB diagnosis. Female and young patients were overrepresented among the co-infected. Cotrimoxazole preventive therapy was administered to 1152 patients (95%) during anti-tuberculosis treatment, and antiretroviral treatment (ART) to 469 (42%). The likelihood of receiving ART increased as initial CD4 lymphocyte counts decreased. Fifteen per cent of TB-HIV patients died during anti-tuberculosis treatment. Patients already on ART prior to anti-tuberculosis treatment experienced the worst outcomes. Patients who initiated ART early during anti-tuberculosis treatment or in the timeframe recommended by the guidelines fared the best.

Conclusion: HIV care has been successfully and sustainably integrated into TB services in Benin. However, ensuring the access of co-infected patients to more favourable treatment outcomes still represents significant challenges.