HIV Prevalence amongst Pregnant Women Clients Attending Antenatal Clinic at the Faith Alive Foundation and PMTCT Centre, Jos Plateau State

Introduction: HIV infection and AIDS is a public health problem worldwide, particularly affecting the populace in resource challenged setting like sub-saharan Africa. Women of reproductive age are mostly affected and infected with the HIV disease. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of 216 randomly selected women that booked for antenatal care at the Faith Alive Foundation and PMTCT centre Jos between 1st July to 31st December, 2014 was carried out. Information regarding age, parity, gestational age at booking, educational status and HIV sero-status of the clients was analysed. Screening test was conducted in a serial two step approval using determine and UNIGOLD as the confirmatory test, while STAT-PAK was the tie-beaker with discordant result as per the national algorithm. Positive samples were confirmed by western blot method. Result: A total of 18 women out of the 216 women studied were positive giving a sero-prevalence rate of 8.3%. The highest sero-prevalent rate was amongst 25 - 29 years age group (31.5%). Women of parity 1 - 4 constituted the highest group of 62.9%. Majority of the women 65.7% booked in the second trimester while 26.9% booked in the 3rd trimester. Most of the women 47.2% had secondary school education while only 5.6% of them had no form of education. Conclusion: HIV infection prevalence rate among antenatal attendants at Faith Alive Foundation and PMTCT centre Jos is still high. Multisectorial approach and intervention strategies should be further scaled up for the prevention of vertical transmission of the virus. However, it is worth noting that it is mainly an HIV/AIDS hospital which should have affected the outcome.

Screen-and-Treat Approach in Secondary Prevention of Cervical Cancer among HIV-Infected Women in Faith Alive Hospital, Jos Nigeria

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, the second most common cancer in Nigeria and the most common cause of cancer-related death in Africa. In 2020, World Health Organization in its updated guidelines recommended cervical cancer screening using HPV DNA, HPV mRNA tests and subsequent treatment as appropriate. However, in resource-poor settings, Visual Inspections with Acetic Acid (VIA), Lugol’s Iodine (VILI) and subsequent treatment of precancerous lesions with thermal ablation remain the practical approaches. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of precancerous cervical lesions and associated risk factors among Women Living with HIV (WLHIV). Methods: A retrospective study on sexually active WLHIV aged 16 - 55 years screened for cervical cancer using VIA and VILI within 16 months period in Faith Alive Hospital Jos. Data were analyzed using IBM-SPSS 26. Sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants and the screening results were presented in frequency tables, and logistic regression was performed to determine risk factors of pre-cancerous lesions. Results: 1113 women were screened for cervical cancer using VIA/VILI. 994 (89.3%) were negative, 101 (9.1%) were positive for precancerous lesions, and 18 (1.6%) were suspicious of cervical cancer. The mean age of clients with pre-cancerous lesions was 41.32 ± 9.89 years. A higher positivity yield (69.4%) was found in ages between 36 and ≥55 years while a less positivity yield (30.6%) was found in age’s ≤ 35 years. History of STI had 1.64 fold risk association with precancerous lesions. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated a high prevalence of precancerous cervical lesions among WLHIV;bimodal age distribution for cancer-suspicious lesions and risk associated with STI. Thus, a “screen-and-treat” approach to cervical cancer prevention by VIA and thermal ablation in resource-poor settings should be undertaken until widespread HPV testing to triage clients is feasible.

Factors Associated with Delay in Presentation of Symptomatic Cancers among HIV Infected Persons in Plateau State, Nigeria

There is increased incidence of cancer worldwide but much of the burden of morbidity and mortality will occur in the developing world because of cancer associated infectious diseases of which HIV infection carries a large proportion. Site-based studies show that proportion of late stage cancer presentation range between 60% - 92% in the last 10 years. There is paucity of information on reasons for the late presentation. This study is aimed to find out the factors associated with delay in presentation of symptomatic cancers among HIV infected persons in Plateau State, Nigeria. A mixed method study consists of quantitative and qualitative component. Participants were sampled from HIV infected persons diagnosed with cancer and referred to the Oncology unit. Variables on Patient and health service factors associated with late presentation of cancers were collected. Quantitative data was analyzed using Epi info version 3.5.3 and Microsoft Excel while thematic analysis was done for qualitative data. There were 503 respondents and the mean age was 48.7 ± 13.5 years. Male sex OR 2.5, (P = 0.002);Farming occupation OR 1.7, (P = 0.0005) and Primary education OR 2.0, (P = 0.0005) were associated with delay. Majority of respondents 349(69%) presented more than six months after onset of symptom. Common symptoms were pain 462(45.70%), swelling 237(23.44%) and skin discoloration 210(20.77). Their Initial reaction was mainly the use of alternative remedies 234(46.5) CI 42.1 - 51.0. Up to 274(54.47%) of participants obtained diagnosis 3 months after presenting to a health facility. Laboratory related issues 199(39.56%) and long booking time 163(32.40%) were the most common reasons for delay. Delay was found to be both patient and services related. The study also suggests that cancer symptom awareness is poor among the participants. There is no tangible cancer prevention program in the HIV/AIDs treatment program. A more in-depth knowledge of cancer is required for both the sufferer and the care giver.

Baseline Laboratory Profile of HIV Positive Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy in Jos North Central Nigeria: Implications for Pre-vention, Treatment, Care and Support

Background: We characterized baseline laboratory data of patients to identify priority treatment areas, most affected populations, anticipated clinical complications and assessed the potential burden of retention in care in Jos, Plateau State—North Central Nigeria. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional design from January 2004 to December 2005 at Faith Alive Foundation (FAF). All participants were HIV-positive and underwent pre-antiretroviral therapy counseling based on the national antiretroviral therapy (ART) guidelines and baseline laboratory testing. Data were captured on Microsoft Excel, validated on Epi Info and analyzed on SPSS version 21 at P < .05 level of significance. Results: Total of 1499 (463 men and 1036 women) participants were evaluated in this study. The age and sex related distribution of participants showed that majority (80.3% for males and 92.5% for females) were 16 - 45 years old. Amylase and creatinine were significantly higher in males than females (P = .02). Anaemia was the most common baseline abnormality (63% for females and 58% for males), while baseline CD4 count was significantly lower in males than females (P < .02) and at one-third had elevated liver enzymes (AST and ALT). Conclusion: The baseline laboratory profile of most HIV positive patients in Jos and environs of North Central–Nigeria was characterized by anaemia, elevated creatinine, and abnormal liver transaminase levels (AST and ALT). This pre-ART laboratory result suggests that HIV-positive individuals have multiple clinical abnormalities which may require more extensive care than just treating the HIV disease.