Cossi Adébayo Alassani’s research while affiliated with Ecole Polytechnique d’Abomey-Calavi and other places

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the therapeutic situation of patients who had been followed up for antiretroviral therapy for at least 5 years. Patients and methods: A retrospective and descriptive study reviewed records of the historical cohort of adults infected with HIV in the national and teaching hospital at Cotonou from January 2, 2002, to March 31, 2013. It included all patients with follow-up for ART for at least five years. Immunological success was defined as a CD4 count above 350 cells/μl at the last test during the study period, and therapeutic success by viral load determined to be undetectable at its last measurement. Data were extracted from the updated ESOPE. STATA 11 software was used for data analysis. Results: In March 2013, 979 patients, accounting for 27.1% of the overall cohort at the site, had been followed up for at least 5 years for ART. Their mean age was 38.1 ± 9.6 years and the sex-ratio (M/F) was 0.7. Analysis showed that 12.3% had been lost to follow-up, 2.3% had died, and 83.6% remained in treatment. The mean CD4 count at treatment initiation was 113.4±90.7 cells/μl, at 5 years 566.6±355.2 cells/μl, and at 10 years, 557.5±311.2 cells/μl. More than half (56.1%) of patients were treated with a first-line ART combination. Immunological success was reported for 63.2% of the patients. Of the 144 patients with a last viral load available, the therapeutic success rate was 76.4%. The probability of survival was 0.95 at 5 years and 0.91 at 10 years. Conclusion: Improving the quality and continuity of care can help to ensure short-term survival for PLHIV under a first-line ART treatment in resource-limited countries.

Objective: The study aimed to describe the current epidemiological, clinical and immunological profile of newly detected HIV-positive patients in Northern Benin by 2016. Methods: It was a prospective study conducted from May 2 to October 31, 2016 on three main sites of care of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the department of Borgou in Benin. All new cases of HIV infection have been systematically and comprehensively recruited. Initial epidemiological, clinical and immunological data were collected using a questionnaire. These data were entered and analyzed using the Epi Info 7 software. Results: In total, 185 adults (68 male and 117 female) newly screened HIV positive were included in this study. The middle age was 36.2 ± 10.9 years and the sex ratio was 0.6 One hundred and thirty-five patients (73%) were between 25 and 50 years old. In terms of the profession, 132 patients (71.3%) were engaged in liberal activities (craftmen, traders and retailers). The majority was schooled (113 or 61.1%) and resided in urban areas (146 or 79%). One hundred and sixteen patients lived in couple (62.7%) with an average monthly income estimated at 70 US Dollars. Clinically, 123 patients (66.5%) were in WHO stage III. The body mass index was over 18.5 kg/m 2 in 124 patients (67%). The median number of TCD4 lymphocytes was 254.5 cells/ml and 25 patients (13.5%) had a number of CD4 over 500 cells/ml. HIV1 was really predominant (97.8%). Most patients (152 or 82.2%) had been screened for clinical suspicion. Conclusion: HIV infection in Benin remains the prerogative of young, female, educated and poor people. Screening is delayed and hence the need to develop innovative strategies for early HIV testing in Benin.

Prevalence and associated factors of anemia among HIV-infected adults initiating antiretroviral treatment in Borgou (Northern Benin) in 2016 Objective: This study aims to investigate the magnitude and correlates of anemia among HIV-infectedadults initiating HAART in Northern Benin. Patients and methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional analytical study with prospective datacollection. All new cases of HIV-infected adults were systematically enrolled from May 2nd to October31th 2016 on three main sites of HIV care in the department of Borgou. Blood specimens were exami-ned for complete blood count. Anemia was defined according to WHO criteria. The data were analyzedusing the Epi Info 7 software. Results: One hundred and eighty-five newly HIV-positive adults were included in this study. The ave-rage age was 36.2 ± 10.9 years and the sex ratio was 0.6. It was an HIV1 in 97.8% of cases, detectedon clinical suspicion in 82.2% of cases. The overall prevalence of anemia was 55.1% (45.1% mild,42.2% moderate, and 12.7% severe anemia). It was an aregenerative anemia (93.1%) in the majorityof cases. Of the anemic patients, 35 (34.3%) had normocytosis and normochromia, and 28 (27.4) hadmicrocytosis and normochromia. Screening for aids symptoms (p = 0.000), BMI < 18,5 kg/m2(p = 0.001), more than two deliveries in women (p = 0.016), bacterial opportunistic infections (p = 0.016), advanced WHO clinical stage (stage III and IV) (p = 0.001), CD4 < 200 cells/mm3(p = 0.000), or CD4 between 200 and 350 cells/mm3(P = 0.006), thrombocytopenia (p = 0.019) andlymphopenia (p = 0.033) were independently associated with the odds of being anemic. Conclusion: Anemia, with a high prevalence in HAART-naïve, HIV-positive adults, may be a real occasion for systematic HIV screening, for achieve WHO’s 90-90-90 objectives by 2020.