Adherence to anti-retroviral drugs in pregnant and lactating HIV Positive women in Brazzaville

Background: Anti-retroviral drugs reduce morbidity and mortality due to HIV and prevent transmission  from mother to child. But compliance on anti-retroviral treatment is an essential element for the success of therapeutic goals.Objective: To assess the level of compliance of anti-retroviral treatment in pregnant and lactating HIV women and identify factors of non-compliance in Brazzaville.Design: An analytical and transversal study conducted in three specialised centres from March to June 2014.Setting: Three support centres for HIV patients in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.Subjects: It had interested pregnant and lactating HIV women and having given consent. The variables studied were: socio-demographic, related to treatment and linked to the health system. Five statistic tests were used: Yates’ chi², Fisher, Student, Kruskal-Wallis and Bartlett.Results: One hundred and thirty patients were included, the mean age was 32 years, 92.3% had good education level, and 72.3% lived as couple. The adherence to antiretroviral treatment within seven days before the survey was 77.7%. Factors significantly influencing non-adherence were: ignorance of HIV status by the partner (RR = 2.10 (1.12 - 3.92)), traditional treatment (RR = 1.77 (0.92 - 3.41), forgetfulness to take drugs (RR = 5.10 (2.07 - 12.55), and discomfort with side effects (RR = 2.12 (1.13 - 3.95).Conclusion: Several factors influence the non-adherence of anti-retroviral treatment. Improving   compliance with treatment requires multi-sectoral participation

Clinical profile of children with haemophilia at the University Hospital of Brazzaville

Haemophilia is a rare hereditary haemorrhagic disease caused by coagulation factor VIII (haemophilia A) or IX (haemophilia B) deficiency. Very few data exist on this disease in Congo. This survey aims to describe the epidemiological and clinical aspects of the children affected