TITLE:
Loss of People Living with HIV/AIDS in the Care Centers of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
AUTHORS:
Berry I. Bongenya, Noëlla M. Dikati, Lambert O. Losenga, Stéphanie M. Selenge, Grace I. Booto, Thérèse K. Ntumba, Benoit O. Kabengele, Marie-Thérèse A. S. Sombo, Guy M. M. Bumoko, Erick N. Kamangu
KEYWORDS:
Loss of Sight, PLHIV, Kinshasa, DRC
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.10 No.3,
March
31,
2023
ABSTRACT: Context: The retention of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and on Antiretroviral (ARV) in Outpatient Treatment Centers (OTC) remains a major challenge in Africa, particularly in cross-border areas due to the high mobility of the population. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the reasons behind the loss of patients on Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) after 6 months of follow-up. Methods: This study is a descriptive survey to present the reasons for the loss of PLHIV at the 6th month of ART in the OTC for HIV in Kinshasa. The population of the present study was HIV-infected adults over the age of 18 on first-line ART in the OTCs included in the study. The parameters of interest followed for the present study were: age, sex, clinical condition and reasons for loss of PLHIV. Results: At the sixth-month medical follow-up appointment, 62 patients had responded and were thus included; 61.3% were women and 38.7% were men. The loss of patient’s rate from D0 to M6 was 47.9%. 61.8% of patients were at clinical stage 3 according to WHO, followed by 29.1% of patients who were in clinical stage 1. 67.9% had normal clinical status and 28.3% had good clinical status. The most common reasons were respectively travel and lack of contact for 10.5% each; followed respectively by non-respect of appointment dates and fear of blood samplings for 8.8%, each, and forgetfulness for 7.0%. Conclusion: Nearly half of the patients no longer return to the treatment centers where they started. The most common reasons for not keeping appointments are travel, lack of contact, not keeping appointment dates, fear of blood samples and forgetfulness.