Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 199 children who initiated cART and had at least one follow-up HIV RNA and/or CD4 cell percentage, stratified by TB treatment status
| Characteristic | All patients | Children receiving TB treatment |
Children not receiving TB treatment |
P a | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of patients (%) | 199 | (100) | 92 | (46.2) | 107 | (53.8) | |
| Median age, years (IQR) | 2.1 | (0.9 – 4.6) | 2.2 | (1.4 – 4.5) | 1.9 | (0.5 – 4.7) | 0.07 |
| <1 | 54 | (27.1) | 16 | (17.4) | 38 | (35.5) | 0.03 |
| 1-2 | 64 | (32.2) | 37 | (40.2) | 27 | (25.2) | |
| 3-4 | 36 | (18.1) | 19 | (20.7) | 17 | (15.9) | |
| 5-6 | 31 | (15.6) | 14 | (15.2) | 17 | (15.9) | |
| 7-8 | 14 | (7.0) | 6 | (6.5) | 8 | (7.5) | |
| Male sex, no. (%) | 103 | (51.8) | 55 | (59.8) | 48 | (44.9) | 0.04 |
| Weight-for-age z-score, median (IQR) | −1.52 | (−2.51 – −0.67) | −1.81 | (−2.63 – −0.97) | −1.29 | (−2.35 – −0.48) | 0.02 |
| <−2, underweight for age | 72 | (36.2) | 40 | (43.5) | 32 | (29.9) | 0.05 |
| <−3, very low weight for age | 24 | (12.1) | 13 | (14.1) | 11 | (10.3) | 0.41 |
| Median hemoglobin, g/dl (IQR)b | 10.0 | (9.0 – 11.0) | 9.6 | (8.9 – 10.6) | 10.3 | (9.4 – 11.1) | 0.01 |
| Mild anemia, no. (%)c | 45 | (24.9) | 17 | (19.8) | 28 | (29.5) | 0.24 |
| Moderate anemia, no. (%)d | 91 | (50.3) | 50 | (58.1) | 41 | (43.2) | |
| Severe anemia, no. (%)e | 4 | (2.2) | 2 | (2.3) | 2 | (2.1) | |
| Median HIV RNA, log10 copies/mL (IQR)f | 5.6 | (4.9 – 6.0) | 5.4 | (4.8 – 5.9) | 5.6 | (5.0 – 6.1) | 0.33 |
| Median CD4 count, cells/μL (IQR)g | 665 | (340 – 1069) | 591 | (300 – 914) | 769 | (407 – 1442) | <0.01 |
| Median CD4 cell percentage (IQR)g | 17.1 | (11.6 – 23.3) | 15.3 | (9.5 – 21.0) | 18.8 | (14.3 – 25.3) | <0.01 |
| WHO age-specific severity of immunodeficiency, no. (%)g |
|||||||
| Not significant | 28 | (14.7) | 10 | (11.1) | 18 | (17.8) | 0.14 |
| Mild | 22 | (11.5) | 7 | (7.8) | 15 | (14.9) | |
| Advanced | 33 | (17.3) | 15 | (16.7) | 18 | (17.8) | |
| Severe | 108 | (56.5) | 58 | (64.4) | 50 | (49.5) | |
| First-line cART regimen, no. (%) | |||||||
| Efavirenz-basedh | 79 | (39.7) | 39 | (42.4) | 40 | (37.4) | 0.47 |
| LPV/r-basedi | 120 | (60.3) | 53 | (57.6) | 67 | (62.6) | |
| Timing of cART initiation, no. (%) | |||||||
| According to pre-2010 guidelines | 67 | (33.7) | 34 | (37.0) | 33 | (30.8) | 0.36 |
| According to 2010 guidelines | 132 | (66.3) | 58 | (63.0) | 74 | (69.2) | |
| Median follow-up time, months (IQR) | 23.8 | (20.6 – 24.1) | 23.8 | (20.2 – 24.1) | 23.8 | (20.7 – 24.2) | 0.61 |
| Median duration of TB treatment at cART initiation, days (IQR) |
23 | (15 – 39) | |||||
Abbreviations: cART, combination antiretroviral therapy; IQR, interquartile range; LPV/r, lopinavir/ritonavir; TB, tuberculosis; WHO, World Health Organization.
Wilcoxon rank-sum testing was used to compare continuous variables; Pearson’s X2 test was used for categorical variables. Statistical significance defined as P <0.05 for all tests.
Baseline hemoglobin values were not available for 18 patients.
Mild anemia was defined as hemoglobin 10.0-10.9 g/dl in children <5 years or 11.0-11.4 g/dl in children ≥5 years.
Moderate anemia was defined as hemoglobin 7.0-9.9 g/dl in children <5 years or 8.0-10.9 g/dl in children ≥5 years.
Severe anemia was defined as hemoglobin <7.0 g/dl in children <5 years or <8.0 g/dl in children ≥5 years.
Baseline HIV RNA values were not available for 22 patients.
Baseline CD4 cell percentages and CD4 counts were not available for 8 patients.
Efavirenz-based cART was generally used for children ≥3 years and ≥10 kilograms.
Protease inhibitor-based cART was generally used for children <3 years or <10 kilograms.