Adverse Events in HIV-Infected Persons Receiving Antiretroviral Drug Regimens in a Large Urban Slum in Nairobi, Kenya, 2003-2005.
OBJECTIVE
This article describes toxicities to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIV-infected patients receiving care at a clinic in a large urban slum in Nairobi, Kenya.


METHODS
Patients were treated with nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based ART and followed at scheduled intervals. Frequencies and cumulative probabilities of toxicities were calculated.


RESULTS
Among 283 patients starting ART, any and severe clinical toxicity were recorded as 65% and 6%, respectively. Cumulative probabilities for remaining free of any and severe clinical toxicities at 6, 12, and 18 months, were 0.47, 0.26, and 0.17, respectively and 0.98, 0.95, and 0.89, respectively. The probability of remaining free from elevated and grade 3 or 4 serum aminotransferase (AST) at 6, 12, and 18 months were 0.62, 0.42, and 0.21, respectively, and 0.99 at 6, 12, and 18 months.


CONCLUSIONS
ART toxicities were frequent, but severe toxicities were less common. In resource-limited settings, ART toxicity should not represent a barrier to care.
Kim
Andrea A
AA
Global AIDS Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. aakim@cdc.gov
Wanjiku
Lucy
L
Macharia
Doris K
DK
Wangai
Mary
M
Isavwa
Anthony
A
Abdi
Hussein
H
Marston
Barbara J
BJ
Ilako
Festus
F
Kjaer
Mette
M
Chebet
Kenneth
K
De Cock
Kevin M
KM
Weidle
Paul J
PJ
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D011204:Poverty Areas; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors