Table 1. Baseline characteristics of patients 15 years and older starting antiretroviral therapy at a community-based ART clinic in South Africa: 2002-2008.
| Year of starting ART | Total | 2002/4 | 2004/5 | 2005/6 | 2006/7 | 2007/8 | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patents starting, n (%) | 3162 | 404 (12.8) | 631 (20.0) | 783 (24.8) | 685 (21.7) | 659 (20.9) | - |
| Cumulative patients starting, n (%) | - | 404 (12.8) | 1035 (32.7) | 1818 (57.5) | 2503 (79.2) | 3162 (100.0) | - |
| Age(yrs) median (IQR) | 34 (29-39) | 33 (29-38) | 34 (29-39) | 33 (29-39) | 34 (28-40) | 35 (29-40) | 0.0537 |
| Gender | |||||||
| Female, n (%) | 2116 (66.9) | 305 (75.5) | 433 (68.6) | 510 (65.1) | 434 (63.4) | 434 (65.9) | 0.001 |
| CD4† (cells/μl) median (IQR) | 104 (51-162) | 87 (45-145) | 101 (48-155) | 102 (50-60.5) | 107 (53-160) | 121 (60-178) | 0.0001 |
| CD4† cell count category (cells/μl), n (%) | |||||||
| ≤50 | 759 (24.0) | 114 (28.2) | 163 (25.8) | 189 (24.1) | 166 (24.2) | 127 (19.3) | <0.001 |
| 51-100 | 715 (22.6) | 105 (26.0) | 148 (23.5) | 174 (22.2) | 143 (20.9) | 145 (22.0) | |
| 101-150 | 675 (21.4) | 84 (20.8) | 142 (22.5) | 162 (20.7) | 161 (23.5) | 126 (19.1) | |
| 151-200 | 571 (18.1) | 53 (13.1) | 118 (18.7) | 123 (15.7) | 127 (18.5) | 150 (22.8) | |
| >200 | 348 (11.0) | 33 (8.2) | 52 (8.2) | 96 (12.2) | 73 (10.7) | 94 (14.3) | <0.001 |
| WHO stage*, n (%) | |||||||
| I and II | 811 (25.7) | 66 (16.3) | 133 (21.1) | 186 (23.8) | 212 (31.0) | 214 (32.5) | |
| III | 1638 (51.8) | 205 (50.7) | 357 (56.6) | 446 (57.0) | 327 (47.7) | 303 (46.0) | |
| IV | 712 (22.6) | 133 (32.9) | 141 (22.4) | 151 (19.3) | 146 (21.3) | 141 (21.4) | |
| Viral load** (copies/ml) | 0.0002 | ||||||
| log10 median (IQR) | 4.9 (4.5-5.3) | 4.9 (4.5-5.3) | 4.8 (4.4-5.2) | 4.9 (4.4-5.4) | 5.0 (4.5-5.4) | 4.9 (4.5-5.3) | |
| Regimen, n(%) | <0.001 | ||||||
| d4T/3TC/EFV | 1946 (61.5) | 350 (86.6) | 511 (81.0) | 477 (61.0) | 315 (46.0) | 293 (44.5) | |
| d4T/3TC/NVP | 752 (23.8) | 14 (3.5) | 43 (6.8) | 209 (26.7) | 254 (37.1) | 232 (35.2) | |
| AZT/3TC/EFV | 106 (3.4) | 5 (1.2) | 6 (1.0) | 33 (4.2) | 34 (4.9) | 28 (4.3) | |
| AZT/3TC/NVP | 354 (11.2) | 34 (8.4) | 71 (11.3) | 63 (8.1) | 81 (11.8) | 105 (15.9) | |
| Other | 4 (0.13) | 1 (0.3) | - | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) | |
| Staffing ratios | |||||||
| Peer counsellor-to-patient | - | 1:22 | 1:36 | 1:58 | 1:89 | 1:98 | |
| Doctor‡-to-patient | - | 1:202 | 1:258 | 1:303 | 1:500 | 1:395 |
3TC, lamivudine; ART, antiretroviral therapy; d4T, stavudine; EFV, efavirenz; IQR, interquartile range; NVP, nevirapine;AZT, zidovudine
†
Data available for 97% of subjects
*
Data available for 99.9% of subjects
**
Data available for 96.6% of subjects
‡
Includes clinical nurse practitioners.