BackgroundThe 2016 World Health Organization guidelines recommend all children <3 years start antiretroviral therapy (ART) on protease inhibitor-based regimens. But lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) syrup has many challenges in low-income countries, including limited availability, requires refrigeration, interactions with anti-tuberculous drugs, twice-daily dosing, poor palatability in young children, and higher cost than non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) drugs. Successfully initiating LPV/r-based ART in HIV-infected children aged <2 years raises operational challenges that could be simplified by switching to a protease inhibitor-sparing therapy based on efavirenz (EFV), although, to date, EFV is not recommended in children <3 years.MethodsThe MONOD ANRS 12026 study is a phase 3 non-inferiority open-label randomised clinical trial conducted in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (ClinicalTrial.gov registry: NCT01127204). HIV-1-infected children who were tuberculosis-free and treated before the age of 2 years with 12–15 months of suppressive twice-daily LPV/r-based ART (HIV-1 RNA viral load (VL) <500 copies/mL, confirmed) were randomised to two arms: once-daily combination of abacavir (ABC) + lamivudine (3TC) + EFV (referred to as EFV) versus continuation of the twice-daily combination zidovudine (ZDV) or ABC + 3TC + LPV/r (referred to as LPV). The primary endpoint was the difference in the proportion of children with virological suppression by 12 months post-randomisation between arms (14% non-inferiority bound, Chi-squared test).ResultsBetween May 2011 and January 2013, 156 children (median age 13.7 months) were initiated on ART. After 12–15 months on ART, 106 (68%) were randomised to one of the two treatment arms (54 LPV, 52 EFV); 97 (91%) were aged <3 years. At 12 months post-randomisation, 46 children (85.2%) from LPV versus 43 (82.7%) from EFV showed virological suppression (defined as a VL <500 copies/mL; difference, 2.5%; 95% confidence interval (CI), −11.5 to 16.5), whereas seven (13%) in LPV and seven (13.5%) in EFV were classed as having virological failure (secondary outcome, defined as a VL ≥1000 copies/mL; difference, 0.5%; 95% CI, −13.4 to 12.4). No significant differences in adverse events were observed, with two adverse events in LPV (3.7%) versus four (7.7%) in EFV (p = 0.43). On genotyping, 13 out of 14 children with virological failure (six out of seven EFV, seven out of seven LPV) had a drug-resistance mutation: nine (five out of six EFV, four out of seven LPV) had one or more major NNRTI-resistance mutations whereas none had an LPV/r-resistance mutation.ConclusionsAt the VL threshold of 500 copies/mL, we could not conclusively demonstrate the non-inferiority of EFV on viral suppression compared to LPV because of low statistical power. However, non-inferiority was confirmed for a VL threshold of <1000 copies/mL. Resistance analyses highlighted a high frequency of NNRTI-resistance mutations. A switch to an EFV-based regimen as a simplification strategy around ...

BackgroundThe paediatric Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic still progresses because of operational challenges in implementing prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMCT) programs. We assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of children’s caregivers regarding mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, paediatric HIV infection, early infant diagnosis (EID), and paediatric antiretroviral treatment in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.MethodsWe undertook a qualitative survey in the four public hospitals managing HIV exposed or infected children, in Ouagadougou in 2011. A sociologist used a semi-structured questionnaire to interview caregivers of children less than 5 years old attending the paediatrics wards on their KAP. Study participants were divided into four groups as follows:those who did not yet know their children’s HIV infection status, those who were waiting for their children’s HIV test results, those who were waiting for antiretroviral treatment, and those who were already on antiretroviral treatment.ResultsA total of 37 caregivers were interviewed. The mean age was 32.5 years, and 29 (78 %) were mothers. Twenty seven (73 %) caregivers had primary or higher level of education, and 15 (40 %) described their occupation as “housewife”. Overall, 36 (97 %) of caregivers knew that the main route of HIV transmission for infants was through MTCT and 14 (38 %) specified that it occurred during pregnancy or delivery. Five percent thought that MTCT of HIV occurred during conception. PMTCT interventions could help prevent infant HIV infection according to 32 (87 %) caregivers. Thirty five percent of caregivers stated EID as a prevention strategy. Fifty-four percent of the participants believed that replacement feeding option would prevent MTCT of HIV; 24 (65 %) stated that they would prefer medical practitioners seek caregivers’ consent before carrying out any HIV-test for their child, and that caregivers’ consent was not compulsory before antiretroviral treatment. All caregivers thought that it was necessary to treat HIV-infected children, although they did not know what interventions could be done.ConclusionsThis study highlighted the low level of caregivers’ knowledge on paediatric HIV prevention and care in Ouagadougou. Awareness programs targeting caregivers need to be strengthened in order to improve the uptake of HIV early infant diagnosis and care.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-016-0569-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

World Health Organization (WHO) places strong emphasis on exclusive breastfeeding of HIV exposed infants during the first 6 months, combined to antiretroviral treatment for mothers and prophylaxis for infants. However, adherence to safe breastfeeding among HIV infected mothers is still a major challenge in Burkina Faso. We conducted a cross sectional study in four hospitals in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in order to explore knowledge, attitudes and practices of HIV infected breastfeeding mothers attending selected clinics for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT). Two hundred and one HIV infected mothers attended the clinics for their children's routine medical visit, among them 162 (81%) had chosen breastfeeding. The majority of women (95%) were familiar with PMTCT measures required during pregnancy and childbirth, whereas prevention measures required during breastfeeding period were less mentioned: mothers strict adherence to antiretroviral treatment (48.1%), safe sexual practices (1.85%), cessation of breastfeeding in case of breast infection (6.2%), avoiding traditional enema (36.4%) and stopping breastfeeding at the age of 12 months after 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding along with the introduction of other foods and fluids (43.2%). Moreover, 52.2% of women did not practice exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months. Factors associated with poor breastfeeding practices were: infant feeding option decided solely by the mother, living in well serviced areas and having a low score (≤ 3) of knowledge on how to prevent HIV transmission during breastfeeding. There is a need for urgent interventions in support of safe breastfeeding in HIV exposed infants in Ouagadougou.

Destombes-Rosai-Dorfman' disease (DRD) is an inflammatory non-langerhansian histiocytosis with adenomegaly. It is a rare histiocytic disorder worldwide, less than 1000 reported cases. It is of unknown etiology and is characterized in its classical form by multiple adenomegalia, especially localized at cervical area, but also at mediastinal, axillary and inguinal areas. It is a benign condition, even if it is deforming, with spontaneously resolving evolution. We report a case of DRD disease in a 13-year-old girl, hospitalized in the Department of Pediatrics of the Yalgado Ouédraogo University Hospital Center in Ouagadougou, in March 2015. She was admitted for a voluminous bilateral painless cervical swelling, with no sign of local compression, having been operating for about a year. Biological tests showed signs of chronic inflammation; the imagery specified the benign character of these formations: adenomegalia. Confirmation of the diagnosis was made by pathological examination, describing the aspect of emperipolesis to histology and, immunohistochemistry, polytypic plasmacytosis and PS100 positive/CD1a histiocytosis negative. The treatment could not be properly carried out, in view of the early discharge, against medical advice from the patient. The evolution would have been marked, according to the parents, by a slight involution of swelling.

Ocular manifestations among HIV infected children are diverse and global incidence varies from 7% to 75%. At this age, eye lesions are often unnoticed because of the incapacity to express eye discomfort. The purpose of this study is to describe ocular manifestations among HIV-infected children and hence associated factors in the Department of Paediatrics at the Yalgado Ouédraogo Teaching Hospital. This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study conducted between July 2014 and December 2014. A complete ophthalmic examination was systematically done to all HIV-positive children attending the clinic, as part of their routine medical visit. The most recent socio-demographic, clinical, biological and treatment data were registered. Seventy-nine children had an ocular examination and among them 92.4% were on ARV treatment. The incidence of ocular manifestations was 46.7%. Median age was 8 years old (interquartile 6 -12 years old). Sex ratio was 1.3. The risk of ocular manifestations involvement among boys was twice than that of girls. More than half (59.5%) of children who had ocular problems had not expressed ocular discomfort. Ocular adnexal lesions were more common (35.4%) compared to eye segments (8.9%) lesions. Anterior segment and posterior segment lesions were statistically associated with immune system depression (p = 0.003 and 0.001). However, this relationship was not statistically significant (p = 0.15). Five out of seven children who had eye fundus lesions had CD4 count <350 cells/mm 3 . Ocular manifestations were very common among HIV infected children in our context. Ophthalmic examination should be systematic at admission and regularly repeated during follow-up.