Anemia Is Common Among Individuals With Human...

Anemia is common among individuals with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection [1]. In sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of anemia is high people living with HIV are likely to be malnourished, have low CD4 counts and have high rates of comorbidities such as tuberculosis and malaria [2, 3] The presence of anemia predicts poor clinical outcomes like death, clinical progression to AIDS, morbidity and a poor quality of life during the course of the HIV infection whether the person is on ART or not [4, 5, 6]. Those who recover from the anemia have better clinical outcomes [7].Therefore reducing anemia is a key component of care in people living with HIV. Starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves hemoglobin levels and provides a†¦show more content†¦For example, anemia caused by HIV and drug toxicity from antiretrovirals and prophylaxis such as zidovudine and cotrimoxazole is important in people on ART in contrast to the general population and those who are ART naà ¯ve. Therefore the approach to addressing anemia between these different groups should be different. As HIV/AIDS programs across sub-Saharan Africa are maturing− more people are failing their first line ART regimens and are requiring second line ART regimens− the programs should have strategies in place to improve survival and to reduce morbidity while on ART [12]. In one part, these strategies should identify those people at a greater risk of anemia during treatment. We studied a cohort of Malawians on second line ART to describe the prevalence of anemia and identify those individuals at risk of having anemia by assessing the prevalence, type and factors associated with anemia in an ART experienced population that had switched to second line ART following prior use of first line ART. METHODS Study setting We conducted a facility-based cross sectional study at Lighthouse and Martin Preusse HIV clinics in Lilongwe, Malawi. Between these clinics 25,000 individuals are registered for care. The two clinics provide both first line and second line ART