Evaluation of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in a tertiary health institution in south-eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Mother-to-child transmission is the highest mode of acquisition of HIV infection in children, with a 15-45% risk of an infant acquiring HIV from an infected mother without any medical intervention. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the implementation of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) guidelines and determine its clinical outcome in a PEPFAR Clinic in Nigeria from 2008 to 2012. A retrospective review of data of patients who accessed PMTCT from the Clinic in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu was conducted. Data were retrieved from the clinic's database and analyzed. The result showed that three hundred and seventy-three (373) pregnant women (aged 30.22±4.88) and three hundred and sixty-seven (367) children from the pregnancies were enrolled into PMTCT. Ten (10) regimens were used for the mothers: AZT/3TC/NVP, TDF/3TC+NVP and AZT/3TC+EFV accounting for 80.00, 11.00 and 2.65%, respectively. AZT (15.80%) and NVP (84.20%) were used for the infants, 8 (2.18%) of whom tested positive for HIV. The study concluded that PEPFAR Clinic, UNTH Enugu substantially followed the guidelines in its PMTCT programme which was found to drastically reduce the transmission of HIV from mother to child.