Scale-up of a decentralized HIV treatment programme in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: does rapid expansion affect patient outcomes?
Portia C Mutevedzi, Richard J Lessells, Tom Heller, Till Bärnighausen, Graham S Cooke & Marie-Louise Newell
Volume 88, Number 8, August 2010, 593-600
Table 1. Baseline characteristics of 5719 patients initiated on antiretroviral therapy in a decentralized HIV treatment programme in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, over a 4-year period, 2004–2008, stratified by half–year
| Characteristic | Total | Oct 04–Mar 05 | Apr 05–Sep 05 | Oct 05–Mar 06 | Apr 06–Sep 06 | Oct 06–Mar 07 | Apr 07–Sep 07 | Oct 07–Mar 08 | Apr 08–Sep 08 | Total | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total initiated on ART, no. (%) | 5719 | 139 (2.4) | 242 (4.2) | 501 (8.8) | 524 (9.2) | 646 (11.3) | 958 (16.8) | 1253 (21.9) | 1456 (25.5) | 5719 (100) | 0.001 |
| Female sex, no. (%) | 5719 | 94 (67.6) | 169 (69.8) | 345 (68.9) | 355 (67.8) | 432 (66.9) | 642 (67.0) | 848 (67.7) | 998 (68.5) | 3883 (67.9) | 0.824 |
| CD4 count (cells/µl), median (IQR) | 5338 | 103 (48–155) | 115 (61–177) | 123 (60–170) | 122 (63–178) | 110 (45.5–172) | 120 (54–177) | 111.5 (54.5–168) | 119 (60–175) | 116 (53–173) | 0.123 |
| CD4 count (< 50 cells/µl), no. (%) | 5338 | 26 (25.5) | 41 (21.6) | 88 (21.3) | 91 (19.7) | 161 (26.7) | 214 (23.1) | 274 (22.4) | 275 (19.5) | 1170 (21.9) | 0.141 |
| WHO stage 3 or 4a, no. (%) | 3056 | 83 (84.7) | 115 (78.2) | 204 (80.6) | 184 (75.1) | 307 (81.0) | 477 (78.6) | 576 (85.1) | 584 (89.9) | 2530 (82.8) | 0.125 |
| TB at initiation, no. (%) | 5692 | 28 (20.1) | 50 (20.7) | 87 (17.4) | 52 (9.9) | 129 (20.0) | 136 (14.2) | 248 (19.9) | 301 (20.9) | 1031 (18.1) | 0.855 |
| Pregnant at initiation,b no. (%) | 3554 | 0 (0) | 2 (1.3) | 3 (0.9) | 9 (2.8) | 1 (0.2) | 31 (5.3) | 50 (6.5) | 88 (9.7) | 184 (5.2) | < 0.001 |
| Linked data, no. (%) | 2509c | 49 (84.5) | 78 (68.4) | 196 (84.1) | 196 (81.7) | 239 (72.2) | 327 (72.3) | 358 (66.8) | 361 (66.2) | 1804 (71.9) | 0.001 |
| Employed, no. (%) | 1724 | 46 (95.8) | 68 (87.2) | 151 (80.3) | 74 (39.8) | 81 (35.8) | 48 (15.3) | 38 (11.2) | 55 (15.9) | 561 (32.5) | < 0.001 |
| Education, no. (%) | 1408 | ||||||||||
| Secondary | 20 (54.1) | 41 (67.2) | 80 (56.3) | 89 (57.1) | 117 (63.2) | 140 (52.8) | 156 (57.1) | 186 (64.4) | 829 (58.9) | 0.221 | |
| Primary | 14 (37.8) | 13 (21.3) | 43 (30.3) | 48 (30.8) | 48 (26.0) | 90 (34.0) | 74 (27.1) | 70 (24.2) | 400 (28.4) | 0.075 | |
| None | 3 (8.1) | 7 (11.5) | 19 (13.4) | 19 (12.2) | 20 (10.8) | 35 (13.2) | 43 (15.8) | 33 (11.4) | 179 (12.7) | 0.545 | |
| Household members, no. (%) | 1456 | ||||||||||
| 1–5 | 13 (34.2) | 20 (30.3) | 59 (37.6) | 36 (21.3) | 51 (26.0) | 70 (28.2) | 75 (25.9) | 101 (34.6) | 425 (29.2) | 0.963 | |
| 6–10 | 15 (39.5) | 24 (36.4) | 47 (29.9) | 68 (40.2) | 83 (42.4) | 111 (44.8) | 114 (39.3) | 92 (31.5) | 554 (38.1) | 0.324 | |
| > 10 | 10 (26.3) | 22 (33.3) | 51 (32.5) | 65 (38.5) | 62 (31.6) | 67 (27.0) | 101 (34.8) | 99 (33.9) | 477 (32.8) | 0.350 |
ART, antiretroviral therapy; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; IQR, interquartile range; TB, tuberculosis; WHO, World Health Organization.
a Staging category at time of ART initiation in accordance with WHO staging criteria.24
b Expressed as a percentage of the total number of women of reproductive age (16–49 years of age) initiating in that half year.
c Total number of people eligible for matching (on treatment and member of household within the demographic survey area).