title: Health outcomes and the transition experience of HIV-infected adolescents after transfer to adult care in Québec, Canada.
abstract: Little is known on outcomes after transition to adult care among adolescents with perinatal HIV infection. Though there is data from other chronic pediatric diseases suggesting increased morbidity and mortality following transfer to adult care, this has not well been studied among the first wave of survivors of perinatal HIV infection. The primary objective of this study was to determine outcomes after transition to adult care among a cohort of HIV-infected adolescents in Québec, Canada. Secondary objectives were to document participant experiences with the transition process, identify barriers to successful transition, and potential changes to improve the transition process.
  
  
  
  Clinic records were reviewed to identify all perinatally-infected youth who transitioned from the Centre Maternel et Infantile sur le Sida pediatric HIV clinic (Montreal) at age 18 to an adult care provider between 1999 and 2012. Transitioned patients were contacted using last available patient or parental listed phone number on hospital record, internet based telephone directory, or social media. A standardized questionnaire was administered by telephone or in-person interview, and copies of current medical records obtained from treating physicians.
  
  
  
  Forty-five patients were transferred between 1999 and 2012, among whom 25 consented to the study, eight were lost to follow-up, eight refused participation, and four were deceased. Overall 76 % of patients remained engaged in care, defined by at least one physician visit within 6 months of the interview. Over 50 % reported difficulty with adherence to their current drug regimens. At one-year post-transfer, there was a decrease in the proportion of patients with CD4 count >500 cells/mm(3) from 64 to 29 %, and a statistically significant decrease in absolute CD4 count (mean 370 vs 524 cells/mm(3), p = 0.04.). The majority (92 %) of participants felt that 18 was too young an age to transfer to adult care, and provided suggestions for improving the transition process.
  
  
  
  This group of perinatally-infected youth remained engaged in care after transition, however difficulties with adherence and assuming responsibility for their own care were identified as issues in their post-transition care. The high rate of mortality among them and the changes to their health status post-transition suggest that further work is necessary to document the health outcomes of this group in larger, more diverse cohort settings.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1C5, Canada. fatima.kakkar@umontreal.ca.|Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada. fatima.kakkar@umontreal.ca.|Centre Maternel et Infantile sur le SIDA, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada. fatima.kakkar@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kakkar
authors.affiliation: Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, Maladies Infectieuses Pédiatriques, Service de Pédiatrie Générale, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dimitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Van der Linden
authors.affiliation: Centre Maternel et Infantile sur le SIDA, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Silvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valois
authors.affiliation: Centre Maternel et Infantile sur le SIDA, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maurice
authors.affiliation: Centre Maternel et Infantile sur le SIDA, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onnorouille
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.|Centre Maternel et Infantile sur le SIDA, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Normand
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lapointe
authors.affiliation: Centre Maternel et Infantile sur le SIDA, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.|Unité d'immunopathologie virale, Centre de recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.|Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soudeyns
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1C5, Canada.|Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.|Centre Maternel et Infantile sur le SIDA, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lamarre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy* / Q000635:transmission; D020276:HIV Long-Term Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011792:Quebec; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D060305:Transition to Adult Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Adolescents; HIV; Outcomes; Perinatal infection; Transition