First Antiretroviral Therapy Changes in People Living with HIV in Senegal:Incidence, Causes and Predictive Factors

Introduction: In resource-limited countries, the number of available antiretroviral (ARV) drugs is relatively limited. Hence, caregivers face some caution and constraints in the changes of ARV treatment (ART) in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Our objective was to calculate the incidence, to describe the main causes and to identify the predictive factors of the first change of ARV treatment in Senegal. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on 331 HIV infected patients who initiated ART in 2009- 2011 and followed until March 2012. The incidence was estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. The causes have been grouped into five categories. The identification of predictive factors was done using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: At inclusion, mean age, IMC and CD4 cell count were 41 years (interquartile range (IQR)=35-48), 18 kg/ m² (IQR=15.6-21.5) and 92 cells/μl (IQR=31-200), respectively. After an average ART duration of 11.4 months, 65 patients had experienced at least one treatment change resulting in an overall incidence rate of 10.5/100 person-years (95% CI=8.4-12.6). ARV drugs intolerance was the main cause of change in treatment (41/65) followed by therapeutic failures (5 cases) and pregnancy (three cases). The independent predictors of first ARV treatment change were female sex (hazard ratio (HR)=1.85: IC 95%=1.07-3.19), underweight (HR=2.20, IC 95%=1.24-3.88) and HIV-1 or HIV-dual infection (HR=3.57, IC 95%=1.11-11.46). Conclusion: In this cohort, the incidence of the first ARV treatment change was low. It was more frequent in women, underweight patients and HIV-1 infected patients. The main cause was ARV intolerance. A better pretherapeutic evaluation, the availability of ARVs compatible with pregnancy and anti-tuberculosis treatment appear to be relevant in this population.