Table 2. Patient status at 6, 12 and 24 months of ART.
| 6 months | 12 months | 24 months | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status at the timepoint, n | |||
| Still followed | 537 | 493 | 445 |
| Dead | 14 | 27 | 38 |
| Transfer-out | 11 | 21 | 43 |
| Lost to follow-up | 16 | 37 | 52 |
| DBS coverage1, n (%) | 4012 (74.7) | 4142 (84.0) | 3692 (82.9) |
| Virological evaluation3, n (%) | |||
| <1,000 copies/mL | 314 (84.2) | 349 (85.8) | 340 (93.4) |
| ≥1,000 copies/mL | 59 (15.8) | 58 (14.2) | 24 (6.6) |
| Confirmatory DBS, n (%) | |||
| Yes | 15 (25.4) | 36 (62.1) | 14 (58.3) |
| No, not collected | 38 (64.4) | 14 (24.1) | 5 (20.8) |
| No, death | 2 (3.4) | 3 (5.2) | 4 (16.7) |
| No, lost to follow-up | 1 (1.7) | 4 (6.9) | 1 (4.2) |
| No, Transfer-out | 3 (5.1) | 1 (1.7) | - |
DBS: dried blood spot
1Only DBS collected within the interval 2 months prior and 4 months after the time point were considered, proportions are estimated as the ratio between the number of DBS collected divided by the number of patients still followed.
2At 6 months, four patients had their DBS lost at some point, with no replacement; at 12 months, seven patients had their DBS lost at some point, and two patients had new DBS collected to replace them; at 24 months, one patient had his DBS lost at some point and a new DBS was collected to replace it.
3Some DBS were lost and therefore not tested (as described before) and others were discarded as they showed signs of humidity making the HIV viral load result uncertain (24, 2 and 5 DBS discarded at 6, 12 and 24 months of ART, respectively)