Loss to follow-up and its predictors among children living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy, southern Oromia, Ethiopia: a 5-year retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND

Loss to follow-up (LTFU) among paediatric patients living with HIV presents a significant challenge to the global scale-up of life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART).

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to estimate LTFU incidence and its determinants among children with HIV on ART in Shashemene town public health institutions, Oromia, Ethiopia.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study from 1 January 2015 to 30 December 2020.

SETTING

This study was conducted in Shashemene town, Oromia, Ethiopia.

PARTICIPANTS

Medical records of 269 children receiving ART at health facilities in Shashemene town were included.

METHODS

Data from patients' medical records were collected using a standardised checklist. EpiData V.3.1 was employed for data entry, while Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) V.25 facilitated analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used for estimation of survival time. To measure association, adjusted HRs (AHRs) with 95% CIs were calculated. Both bivariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed to identify predictors of LTFU.

RESULTS

Of the 269 children living with HIV included in the final analysis, 43 (16%) were lost to follow-up. The overall incidence rate of LTFU was 3.3 (95% CI 2.4 to 4.4) per 100 child-years of observation. Age less than 5 years (AHR 0.03, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.36), non-orphan status of the child (AHR 0.13, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.34), < 30 min distance to health facility (AHR 0.24, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.73), disclosed HIV status (AHR 0. 32, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.80), history of opportunistic infection (AHR 3.54, 95% CI 1.15 to 10.87) and low CD4 count (AHR 5.17, 95% CI 2.08 to 12.85) were significant predictors of LTFU.

CONCLUSION

The incidence rate of LTFU was lower compared with other studies in Ethiopia. This result indicated that age less than 5 years, non-orphans, low CD4, disclosed HIV status and distance from health facility were predictors of LTFU.