Predictors of Viral Suppression among Adults Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: A Retrospective Chart Review.

Background Information: Over 1.6 million Nigerians have succumbed to the ravaging scourge of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic since its discovery. Viral suppression (VS) then becomes a critical cost-effective human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention strategy. We assessed the prevalence and predictors of VS. Materials and Methods: This retrospective case file review was conducted among adults (aged ≥18 years) living with HIV/AIDS who accessed care at a tertiary health facility in Northwestern Nigeria between January and December 2021. Results: One thousand one hundred and twenty HIV/AIDS-eligible patients accessed care during the study. Their age ranged between 20 and 70 years with a mean of 43.83 ± 10.83 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 43.19--44.46). The patients were mostly female (728; 65.0), residing in urban areas (680; 60.7%), self-employed (440; 39.3%), married (712; 63.6%), receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at most 14 years (916; 81.8%), on first-line ART regimen (812; 72.5%), in HIV clinical stage 1 (964; 86.1%), and with a baseline CD4 count of 199 cells/⋅l (453; 40.4%). The prevalence of VS of 64.3% (720/1120) was recorded in the study. The predictors of VS were disclosure of HIV status (odds ratio [OR] =2.4; 95% CI = 1.503--3.832), absence of opportunistic infections (OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.242--5.406), receiving ART for 15-29 years (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.398--3.292), first-line ART regimen (OR = 3.7; 95% CI = 2.618-5.115), and adequate adherence (OR = 4.7; 95% CI = 3.324-6.766). Conclusion: VS was suboptimal among the study cohort with adequate adherence being its strongest predictor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]