Tuberculosis Incidence and Mortality Rates Among People Living with HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy at the Buea Regional Hospital: A Seven Year Retrospective Study

Introduction: The use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically decreased HIV-associated morbidity and mortality in high-and low-income countries with a corresponding reduction in tuberculosis (TB) incidence. Nevertheless, the risk of TB remains substantially higher in people living with HIV (PLHIV) compared to non-HIV infected individuals. In Cameroon, free ART was introduced in 2007 and our understanding of the possible role of ART in reducing HIV-associated TB remains limited. We assessed TB incidence, mortality and risk factors for TB and mortality among PLHIV treated at Buea Regional Hospital between 2008 and 2014. Materials and Methods: In a retrospective study we reviewed the records of 1,477 HIV patients on ART. The data was entered and analysed using SPSS version 21. Bivariate and Multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to determine the risk factors associated with TB and mortality occurrences at 5% significance level. Results: Of the 1477 patients’ records that was reviewed, females (70.7%) constituted a greater proportion. Majority of the participants (60.5%) were between the ages 21-40 years (mean: 37.5 ± 11.5. SD). A total of 209 patients developed TB giving an overall TB incidence density rate 4.25/100PYR (95% CI: 2.47-6.46). There was an increasing trend in the incidence of TB over the years from 1.69 (95% CI: 0.72-1.98) in 2008 to 19.63 (95% CI: 7.36-21.20) in 2014. The overall mortality rate was 12.4% (183/1477) of which 38.8% (71/183) of them were on TB treatment or previously treated for TB. In a multivariate analysis, low CD4 cells level at ART initiation (AOR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.11-.2.10), WHO HIV clinical stage 3 and 4 (AOR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.01-2.22) were significantly associated with increase odds of TB occurrence. Conclusion: Even in the era of HAART, TB still remains a significant cause of mortality among PLHIV and therefore efforts should be scaled-up for early diagnosis and prompt treatment of TB