Incidence of tuberculosis and associated mortality in a cohort of human immunodeficiency virus-infected children initiating antiretroviral therapy

• Main Authors: Nicolas Salvadori, Nicole Ngo-Giang-Huong, Chloé Duclercq, Suparat Kanjanavanit, Chaiwat Ngampiyaskul, Pornchai Techakunakorn, Achara Puangsombat, Julie Figoni, Jean Yves Mary, Intira J. Collins, Tim R. Cressey, Sophie Le Coeur, Wasna Sirirungsi, Marc Lallemant, Kenneth McIntosh, Gonzague Jourdain
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85021057321&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/47163
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

© The Author 2017. Background. We assessed the incidence of tuberculosis, risk factors for tuberculosis, and the contribution of tuberculosis on mortality in a large cohort of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children < 15 years of age initiating first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) between 1999 and 2012 in Thailand, one of the 22 high tuberculosis burden countries. Methods. A physician reviewed and classified tuberculosis cases. Incidence was the number of children with incident tuberculosis, defined as a first or recurrent tuberculosis diagnosis > 30 days after ART initiation, divided by the total person-years of follow- up (PYFU). Risk factors for incident tuberculosis were identified using Fine and Gray's competing risks models, with death from other causes treated as a competing event, and risk factors for death were identified using Cox models. Results. At ART initiation, 670 children (55% female) had a median age of 6.4 years (interquartile range, 2.0-9.6), body mass index-for-age z-score -0.8 (-1.9 to 0.0), HIV ribonucleic acid viral load 5.1 log10 copies/mL (4.6-5.6), and CD4 9% (3-17). Median duration of follow-up was 7.7 years. Tuberculosis incidence was 7 per 1000 PYFU (95% confidence interval [CI], 5-11) and decreased with ART duration. Lower age-adjusted hemoglobin, hematocrit, and CD4 at ART initiation were associated with a higher risk of incident tuberculosis. Of the 30 incident tuberculosis cases, 9 died. Diagnosis of incident tuberculosis was associated with mortality (unadjusted hazard ratio = 10.2, 95% CI = 4.8-21.5, P < .001 and adjusted hazard ratio = 5.4, 95% CI = 2.5-11.7, P < .001). Conclusions. Incident tuberculosis was strongly associated with mortality. CD4 counts or hemoglobin or hematocrit levels may prompt clinicians to consider a possible tuberculosis infection.