Abstract

Background. We evaluated the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and liver fibrosis/cirrhosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals enrolled in a rural Tanzanian prospective cohort and assessed hepatic fibrosis progression 12–24 months after antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation.

Methods. All ART-naive HIV-infected adults ≥15-year-old enrolled in the Kilombero and Ulanga Antiretroviral Cohort who started ART between 2005 and 2015 were included. Pre-ART factors associated with significant liver fibrosis (aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index [APRI] >1.5) and cirrhosis (APRI > 2.0) were identified using logistic regression.

Results. Of 3097 individuals screened, 227 (7.3%; 95% CI, 6.4–8.2) were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive. Before ART initiation, 9.1% individuals had significant liver fibrosis and 5.3% had cirrhosis. Human immunodeficiency virus/HBV-coinfected individuals were more likely to have an APRI score indicating significant fibrosis (14.2% vs 8.7%, P = .03) and cirrhosis (9.2% vs 4.9%, P = .03) than HBV-uninfected patients. CD4 cell count <200 cell/μL and alcohol consumption were independently associated with pre-ART APRI score, indicating significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in multivariable analyses. Among individuals with elevated APRI measurements pre- and 12–24 months post-ART initiation, 53 of 57 (93.0%) of HIV-monoinfected and 4 of 5 (80.0%) of HIV/HBV-coinfected had a regression to APRI < 1.5.

Conclusions. Hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis were common in our cohort, especially among HIV/HBV-coinfected individuals. The APRI improved in most patients. Pre-ART HBsAg screening and early onset of tenofovir-based ART for HIV/HBV-coinfection should be prioritized in sub-Saharan Africa.

Details

Title
Prevalence and Outcomes of Hepatitis B Coinfection and Associated Liver Disease Among Antiretroviral Therapy-Naive Individuals in a Rural Tanzanian Human Immunodeficiency Virus Cohort
Author
Ramírez-Mena, Adrià 1 ; Glass, Tracy R 2 ; Winter, Annja 3 ; Kimera, Namvua 4 ; Ntamatungiro, Alex 4 ; Hatz, Christoph 2 ; Tanner, Marcel 2 ; Battegay, Manuel 5 ; Furrer, Hansjakob 3 ; Wandeler, Gilles 6 ; Letang, Emilio 7 

 Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, Spain 
 Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute of Basel; University of Basel 
 Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland 
 Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara Branch, United Republic of Tanzania 
 University of Basel; Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital, University Basel 
 Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland; Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Switzerland; Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Dakar, Senegal 
 Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute of Basel; University of Basel; Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara Branch, United Republic of Tanzania; ISGlobal, Centro de Investigación en Salud Internacional de Barcelona, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona, Spain 
Publication year
2016
Publication date
Summer 2016
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
23288957
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3170975059
Copyright
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.