Magnitude of Opportunistic Infections and Associated Factors Among HIV-Positive Adults on ART at Selected Public Hospitals in Sidama National Regional State, Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Opportunistic infections are late complications of HIV infection due to the depletion of the immune system. It is a major public health problem and high morbidity AIDS patients die of AIDS-related infections in developing countries like Ethiopia. Identification of opportunistic infections (OIs) is important to develop a specific intervention. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the burden and associated factors of opportunistic infections.

Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 420 randomly selected HIV/AIDS patients taking anti-retroviral therapy. Data were collected from selected hospitals in Sidama Regional State based on population proportion to size. Data were collected by a pre-tested questionnaire and a pre-tested checklist from the medical records of patients. Data were entered and analyzed for descriptive and logistic regression models by SPSS v.23. The result declared as statistically significant at p < 0.05.

Results: The magnitude of opportunistic infections was 39.6%. Major identified OIs were oral candidiasis 23.2%, recurrent bacterial pneumonia 21.5%, herpes zoster 6.3%, and pulmonary tuberculosis 6.0%. The magnitude of opportunistic associated with older age [AOR=3.50, 95% CI:1.85, 6.61], no formal education [AOR=4.54, 95% CI:1.81, 11.37], initial CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm3 [AOR=3.10, 95% CI:1.61, 5.96], who interrupt ART medicines [AOR=3.21, 95% CI:1.86, 5.56] and khat chewing [AOR=4.24, 95% CI:2.07, 8.68] when compared to their counterparts.

Conclusion: The overall magnitude of opportunistic infections was high when compared with other studies. Health officials and clinicians need to give attention to the strengthening of the provision if ART with prophylaxis on early stage and adherence, implementation of the TB/HIV collaboration activity, and early initiation of ART to reduce opportunistic infections.