Hepatitis B and C Immunological and Molecular Parameter Analysis in HIV-Positive Patients Undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy at Saint Camille Hospital in Ouagadougou (HOSCO), Burkina Faso

Abstract

Knowledge of the clinical and biological profile of patients infected with HIV and hepatitis B and/or C is essential in order to identify and implement effective management strategies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study from January 01, 2016 to June 01, 2021. Adult patients aged at least 18 years infected with HIV type 1 and/or 2, na?ve to ARV treatment. Univariate analyses were assessed using Pearson’s Chi2 test. The Student Newman test was used for comparison between groups using R software version 4.0.2. Objective: To draw up the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical and evolutionary profiles of HIV-treated-patients in relation to HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV co-infections in order to allow the identification and the implementation of effective management strategies. Results: Of the 379 patients included 280 (73.88%) were women. At treatment initiation, the mean age was 40.14 ± 11.84 years. The majority of patients consulted at WHO stage III (51.45%). Clinical suspicion was the most frequent screening circumstance (51.71%). The pathologies frequently reported at the first consultation were diarrhea (28%) and shingles (16%). Body mass index was normal in 50.5% of patients. HIV1 infection was the majority (91.03%). A total of 270 had a CD4 count at treatment initiation. The mean CD4 cell count was 304.17 ± 242.06 cells/μL, and 116 (42.59%) of them had a CD4 ≤ 200 cells/μL. Viral load at treatment initiation was documented in 62 patients (16.35%) and 70.97% of them had a detectable viral load (greater than 1000 copies/mL). The clinical and biological evolution was relatively good in patients after therapeutic initiation. HIV-HBV co-infection was 24.11% and HIV-HCV co-infection was 2.26%. The mortality rate was 3.69%. Conclusion: These results reflect a significant delay in HIV infection diagnosis. Furthermore, hepatitis B and/or C is co-infections that increasingly affect people living with HIV. It also appears that COVID 19 disease has had a strong impact on patient management. Thus, new screening strategies must be implemented to encourage early diagnosis of HIV, hepatitis B and C. Effective strategies are also necessary to fight HIV in the context of epidemics and/or pandemics.