HIV viral load testing and monitoring in Côte d’Ivoire: A survival analysis of viral load testing and suppression, and evaluation of adherence to national recommendations

Abstract

Routine viral load (VL) monitoring is the standard of care in Côte d’Ivoire and allows for effective treatment guidance for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to reach viral load suppression (VLS). For VL monitoring to be effective in reducing the impact of HIV, it must be provided in accordance with national guidance. This study aimed to evaluate VL testing, VLS rates and adherence to national guidance for VL testing using data collected from three national laboratories. We collected data on VL testing between 2015–2018 from OpenELIS (OE), an open-source electronic laboratory information system. We merged data by unique patient ID for patients (0–80 years old) who received multiple VL tests to calculate time between tests. We defined VLS as HIV RNA ≤1,000 copies/mL based on Côte d’Ivoire national and WHO guidance at the time of data collection. We used the Kaplan-Meier survival estimator to estimate time between ART (antiretroviral therapy) initiation and the first VL test, time between subsequent VL tests, and to estimate the proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) who were virally suppressed within 12 months of ART initiation. At the first documented VL test, 79.6% of patients were virally suppressed (95% CI: 78.9–80.3). Children under 15 were the least likely to be virally suppressed (55.2%, 95% CI: 51.5–58.8). The median time from ART initiation to the first VL sample collection for testing was 7.8 months (IQR:6.2–13.4). 72.4% of patients were virally suppressed within one year of treatment initiation (95% CI:71.5–73.3). Approximately 30% of patients received a second VL test during the 4-year study period. The median time between the first and second VL tests was 24.9 months (IQR: 4.7->40). Most PLHIV received their first VL test within the recommended 12 months of ART initiation but did not receive subsequent VL monitoring tests within the recommended time frame, reducing the benefits of VL monitoring. While VLS was fairly high, children were least likely to be virally suppressed. Our findings highlight the importance of regular VL monitoring after the first VL test, especially for children.