Échecs thérapeutiques chez les enfants infectés par le VIH en suivi de routine dans un contexte à ressources limitées au Cameroun

Introduction: L'objectif de cette étude était de déterminer les facteurs associés aux échecs thérapeutiques chez les enfants infectés par le VIH à l'Hôpital Laquintinie de Douala.Méthodes: Une étude transversale rétrospective a été menée sur une période de 5 mois en 2010, recrutant 222 enfants âgés de 1 à 18 ans et sous TARV depuis au moins 24 semaines. Les données  sociodémographiques, cliniques, biologiques et de l'observance thérapeutique des patients ont été collectés à partir des dossiers des patients, et analysées avec le logiciel SPSS (version 16).Résultats: 39 (17,6%) des enfants étaient en échec thérapeutique (délai moyen de survenue 26,8 mois) et 73,4% d'entre eux sont passés en seconde ligne. Les garçons avaient en moyenne un risque 5 fois plus élevé de faire un échec thérapeutique que les filles (OR=3,9; p=0,035). 94,4% des enfants suivis avaient un faible taux de CD4 à l'initiation (' 25%) associé au risque élevé d'échec thérapeutique (OR=5,2; p=0,007).  Les enfants issus de famille monoparentale représentaient près de la moitié des cas d'échecs thérapeutiques. Sur 39 cas en échec thérapeutique, 41% des enfants étaient des orphelins. Parmi les enfants sous TARV, 46% prenaient leur trithérapie sous forme de médicaments séparés parmi lesquels 52,1% étaient en échec thérapeutique. Conclusion: Les échecs thérapeutiques et le passage en seconde ligne dépendaient du contexte familial des enfants, de leur statut immunologique à l'initiation du traitement, de leur sexe et de la forme galénique du TARV.Key words: VIH, enfants, échec thérapeutiqu

Evaluation of treatment response, drug resistance and HIV-1 variability among adolescents on first- And second-line antiretroviral therapy: A study protocol for a prospective observational study in the centre region of Cameroon (EDCTP READY-study)

BackgroundSub-Saharan Africa (SSA) alone has nine out of every 10 children living with HIV globally and monitoring in this setting remains suboptimal, even as these children grow older. With scalability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), several HIV-infected children are growing towards adolescence (over 2.1 million), with the potentials to reach adulthood. However, despite an overall reduction in HIV-related mortality, there are increasing deaths among adolescents living with HIV (ADLHIV), with limited evidence for improved policy-making. Of note, strategies for adolescent transition from pediatrics to adult-healthcare are critical to ensure successful treatment response and longer life expectancy. Interestingly, with uptakes in prevention of mother-to-child transmission, challenges in ART programs, and high viremia among children in SSA, the success rate of paediatric ART might be quickly jeopardised, with possible HIV-1 drug-resistance (HIVDR) emergence, especially after years of paediatric ART exposure. Therefore, monitoring ART response in adolescents and evaluating HIVDR patterns might limit disease progression and guide on subsequent ART options for SSA ADLHIV.ObjectivesAmong Cameroonian ADLHIV receiving ART, we shall evaluate the rate of immunovirologic failure, acquired HIVDR-associated mutations, HIV-1 subtype distribution, genetic variability in circulating (plasma) versus archived (cellular) viral strains, and HIVDR early warning indicators (EWIs) at different time-points.MethodsA prospective and observational study will be conducted among 250 ADLHIV (10-19years old) receiving ART in the centre region of Cameroon, and followed-up at 6 and 12months after enrollment. Following consecutive sampling at enrolment, plasma viral load and CD4/CD8 count will be measured, and genotypic resistance testing (GRT) will be performed both in plasma and in buffy coat for participants experiencing virological failure (two consecutive viremia >=1000 copies/ml). Plasma viral load and CD4/CD8 will be monitored for all participants at 6 and 12months after enrolment. HIVDR-EWIs will be monitored and survival analysis performed during the 12months follow-up. Primary outcomes are rates of virological failure, acquired-HIVDR, and mortality.DiscussionOur findings will provide evidence-based recommendations to ensure successful transition from paediatrics to adult ART regimens and highlight further needs of active ART combinations, for reduced morbidity and mortality in populations of ADLHIV within SSA

Prevalence of pneumococcal nasopharyngeal colonization and serotypes circulating in Cameroonian children after the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction

BackgroundStreptococcus pneumoniae remains a major contributor to childhood infections and deaths globally. In Cameroon, the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was introduced in July 2011, using a 3-dose Expanded programme on immunization (EPI) schedule administered to infants at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age. To evaluate PCV13 effects, we assessed pneumococcal nasopharyngeal colonization and serotype distribution among Cameroonian children after PCV13 introduction.MethodsNasopharyngeal (NP) swabs were collected from eligible children aged 24–36 months in two cross-sectional surveys conducted from March to July: in 2013 (PCV13-unvaccinated), and in 2015 (PCV13-vaccinated). Using a systematic World Health Organization (WHO) cluster coverage sampling technique in 40 communities, NP swabs collected were processed following WHO recommendations. Standard bacterial culture techniques were used for the isolation of S. pneumoniae from gentamicin-blood agar plates and identification using optochin susceptibility testing. Serotyping was performed using sequential multiplex polymerase chain reaction, supplemented with Quellung test.ResultsAmong the PCV13-vaccinated children, overall pneumococcal carriage prevalence was 61.8% (426/689) and PCV13 vaccine-type carriage prevalence was 18.0% (123/689). Eleven out of the 13 vaccine serotypes were detected in the vaccinated children. The most common serotypes were 19F (4.5%, 31/689) and 15B/C (7.3%, 50/689).ConclusionIn Cameroon, four years after infant vaccination nearly all of the PCV13-serotypes continued to circulate in the population. This suggests that the direct and indirect effects of the vaccination programme have not resulted in expected low levels of vaccine-type transmission. Continuous monitoring is needed to assess the long term effects of the PCV13 on nasopharyngeal carriage and disease.</div