Tropical Doctor > Volume 38, Number 1 > Pp. 5-7

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Makombe, S. D Articles by Libamba, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Articles

Outcomes of patients with Kaposi's sarcoma who start antiretroviral therapy under routine programme conditions in Malawi

Simon D Makombe DIP CLIN MED   ^*   Anthony D Harries MD   ^*      Joseph Kwong-Leung Yu MD      Mindy Hochgesang MPH   ^¶   Eustice Mhango DIP CLIN MED   ^#   Ralf Weigel MD   ^#   Olesi Pasulani DIP CLIN MED   ^||   Margaret Fitzgerald MPH   ^||   Erik J Schouten MD   ^* **   Edwin Libamba MBBS   ^*

^* Clinical HIV Unit, Ministry of Health, PO Box 30377, Lilongwe, Malawi; Family Health International, Malawi Country Office, Lilongwe, Malawi; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, UK; Taiwan Medical Mission, Mzuzu Central Hospital, Mzuzu, Malawi; ^¶ Centres for Disease Control, Lilongwe Office; ^# Lighthouse Clinic, Lilongwe, Malawi; ^|| Medecins sans Frontieres-Belgium, Thyolo District Hospital, Thylo, Malawi; ^** Management Sciences for Health, Lilongwe, Malawi

Correspondence to: Prof. AD Harries, Family Health International, Malawi Country Office, Arwa House, 3rd Floor, PO Box 30455, Lilongwe 3, Malawi Email: adharries{at}malawi.net

AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common AIDS-related malignancy in sub-Saharan Africa, with a generally unfavourable prognosis. We report on six-month and 12-month cohort treatment outcomes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive KS patients and HIV-positive non-KS patients treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) in public sector facilities in Malawi. Data were collected from standardized antiretroviral (ARV) patient master cards and ARV patient registers. Between July and September 2005, 7905 patients started ART-488 (6%) with a diagnosis of KS and 7417 with a non-KS diagnosis. Between January and March 2005, 4580 patients started ART-326 (7%) with a diagnosis of KS and 4254 with a non-KS diagnosis. At six-months and 12-months, significantly fewer KS patients were alive and significantly more had died or defaulted compared to non-KS patients. HIV-positive KS patients on ART in Malawi have worse outcomes than other patients on ART. Methods designed to improve these outcomes must be found.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?