title: Assessment of isoniazid preventive therapy in the reduction of tuberculosis among ART patients in Arba Minch Hospital, Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tuberculosis (TB) is the most frequent life-threatening opportunistic disease among people living with HIV and remains a leading cause of mortality, even among persons receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) and cotrimoxazole prophylaxis have been recommended for the benefit of HIV/AIDS-infected individuals to prevent opportunistic infections. The aim of this study was to assess IPT prophylaxis in the reduction of TB among ART patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a hospital-based retrospective study. A total of 271 study participants' available information such as demographic data, the type of prophylaxis used, and TB/HIV coinfection status as well as other variables were collected from clinical laboratory and HIV care/ART follow-up clinic. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TB-infected ART patients were higher among non-IPT group (37 [27.8%]) compared to IPT group (12 [8.7%]). The finding showed that IPT prophylaxis significantly reduces acquiring TB with the relative risk =0.31 (95% confidence interval =0.122, 0.49) in ART patients of this study site where the tuberculosis prevalence is prominent. ART had significant contribution for CD4+T-cell lymphocyte count improvement in both IPT and non-IPT groups (P<0.05) in this study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IPT had significant contributions to reduce the burden of TB in ART patients than non-IPT group. This result highlights the use of IPT for the prevention of TB, especially for all ART patients. Other longitudinal studies are needed to observe the benefits and side effects of IPT prophylaxis in tuberculin skin test-positive individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Ashenafi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abossie
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Tsegaye
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yohanes
keywords: ART patients; CD4+ T-cell count; IPT prophylaxis; opportunistic disease; tuberculosis