Metrics
77 File views/ downloads
93 Record Views
Journal article
Likelihood of Pneumocystis Pneumonia, Cryptococcus Meningitis and Tuberculosis after experiencing symptoms of shortness of breath, fever and cough among patients on antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania
International journal of health sciences and research, Vol.5(3), pp.238-249
5
2015
Abstract
Background: Opportunistic infections (OI) still remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected persons presenting with advanced infection. We examine the proportion of deceased patients who were on antiretroviral therapy (ART) with symptoms of shortness of breath, fever and cough and its effect in determining the likelihood for Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP), Cryptococcal Meningitis (CM) and Tuberculosis (TB).
Methods: A retrospective analysis of routinely collected program data was done for assessing factors related to mortality of 987 deceased adult patients who received ART at 6 health facilities between 1st January 2007 and 31st December 2012. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were conducted using STATA 12.0 to identify the risk of common opportunistic infections.
Results: About fifty two percent of all the deceased patients had experienced at least one symptom. Those who experienced shortness of breath 6 months before death were 10 times (95% CI: 5.9 – 17.6) more likely to have PCP and 4 times (95% CI: 2.8 – 5.6) more likely to have TB compared to those who did not have shortness of breath. ART patients who had experienced fever and cough 6 months before death were more likely to have PCP (OR= 5.8: 95% CI 2.9 – 11.6), likelihood for TB was 4.2 (95% CI: 3.0 – 5.8) and CM (OR = 2.1: 95% CI 1.2 - 3.6; p<0.008) compared to those who did not experience fever ad cough symptoms.
Conclusion: Despite increased access to ART, People living with HIV in resource limited settings continue to die due to opportunistic infections. These deaths could be averted if more aggressive screening and detection of OI is carried out. Appropriate diagnoses of OI in such settings are essential to the reduction of early mortality and overall success of HIV care and treatment. Retraining of health care workers and introduction of a simple prognostic tool could be useful in improving risk assessment of PCP, CM and TB.
Files and links (1)
Related links
Details
- Title
- Likelihood of Pneumocystis Pneumonia, Cryptococcus Meningitis and Tuberculosis after experiencing symptoms of shortness of breath, fever and cough among patients on antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania
- Publication Details
- International journal of health sciences and research, Vol.5(3), pp.238-249
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- The International Journal of Health Sciences and Research; India
- Series
- 5
- Format
- pdf
- Identifiers
- 99380090325206600
- Academic Unit
- Public Health; Usha Kundu, MD College of Health
- Language
- English