Antiretroviral therapy outcomes among adolescents and young adults in a Tertiary hospital in Kenya

Background: Limited data is available on the treatment outcomes of HIV infected adolescents and young adults (AYA) in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV-infected adolescents and young adults (AYA) are at high risk of developing antiretroviral treatment failure.
Objective: To determine the clinical, immunological and virologic outcomes of AYA at a tertiary hospital in Kenya.
Methodology: A longitudinal study was conducted among AYA age 10-24 years attending Kenyatta National Hospital comprehensive care center. Clinical data was abstracted from electronic medical records for study participants with at least 6 months of follow-up using a structured data abstraction sheet.
Results: A total of 250 AYA age 10 to 24 years were included. The median age was 16 years. The median CD4 cell count was 650.6 cells/mm³ (IQR 350.7-884.0). More than half (60.6%) of AYA had a CD4 cell count higher than 500 cells/mm³. Overall, 76.9% of AYA had achieved viral suppression (viral load <1000 copies/ml). There was a significant increase in virologic failure with higher age and late adolescents and young adults were more likely to have a viral load > 1000 copies/ ml p<0.012.
Conclusion: The overall virologic suppression in this cohort of AYA was sub-optimal. Both immunological and virologic outcomes were worse among late adolescents (18-19 years) and young adults (20-24 years).