[Socio-demographic, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of adolescents treated and followed for HIV infection at the Hospital Gabriel Toure paediatric center].

Unlabelled: HIV infection is a chronic infectious disease requiring long-term management and regular follow-up of patients.

Objectives: The aims of this study was to describe the socio-demographic, clinical, biological and therapeutic aspects of adolescents treated and followed for HIV infection at the Hospital Gabriel Toure paediatric center.

Patients And Methods: From 01/01/2001 to 31/12/2017, the medical records of children followed for HIV infection until adolescence were analyzed. It was a descriptive and analytical retrospective study.

Results: One thousand five hundred and fourteen patients received antiretroviral treatment and 587 were still in follow-up on 31 December 2017, including 393 adolescents (sex-ratio = 1.2). The median age was 14.25 years and 55.1% of children had lost at least one parent. HIV serology was positive among mothers in 61.7% of cases (n=342), and 63% of them were on ARVs. Sixty-eight per cent of children were WHO Stage III or IV at the time of ART initiation. The median age at onset of ART was 53 months (26-96 months). The combination of 2 nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) with a non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) was used in 89% of patients. The median CD4 count before ARV treatment was 438/mm3. The average duration of follow-up under treatment was 9.8 ± 3.4 years. Fifty-one percent of adolescents had undetectable viral load. There was a correlation between the initiation of a second line of treatment and treatment failure (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The adherence of adolescents to ARV treatment requires the implementation of innovative strategies to improve the therapeutic success rate.