Prevalence of Anemia among People Living with HIV/AIDS Starting Antiretroviral Therapy in the Era of Dolutegravir in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Background: Anemia remains the most frequent hematological complication during HIV/AIDS infection. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anemia among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) who start AntiRetroViral treatment in Kinshasa in the era of Dolutegravir. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of anemia in PLHIV at the start of ARV Treatment (ART) in 13 Outpatient Treatment Centers (OTC) in Kinshasa. The patient inclusion period was from October 04, 2021 to February 15, 2022. Patients included in the present study were HIV type 1 infected, ART naïve, over the age of 18 and had signed informed consent for participation. The parameters of interest were: The hemoglobin level and the clinic of the patients. Results: One hundred and nineteen patients were included in this work with an average age of 39.87 ± 12.36 years and extremities of 18 to 69 years. The most represented age group is that of 36 to 45 years with 37 patients (31.9%). Sixty-seven patients (56.3%) are female. The average value for Hemoglobin is 10.30 ± 2.33 g/dl. The most represented range of values is that of more than 13 g/dl with 73 patients (69.5%). Forty-nine (49) patients, or 41.5%, were in clinical stage 3. Fifty-five (55) patients, or 47.0%, had normal clinical status. Conclusion: At the start of ART, 21.0% of patients presented with some form of anemia: 7.6% mild anemia, 8.6% moderate anemia and 4.8% severe anemia. About half of the patients (41.5%) were at clinical stage 3 according to WHO and more than half of all patients (47.0%) had a normal clinical condition.