Performance and Logistical Challenges of Alternative HIV-1 Virological Monitoring Options in a Clinical Setting of Harare, Zimbabwe

Table 1

Characteristics of the study population.

	ART-naive (𝑛=100)	ART-treated (𝑛=202)	𝑃
Age (years)			NS
18–29	19 (19)	12 (5.9)^¥
30–49	74 (74)	153 (75.7)
>50	7 (7)	35 (17.3)
Gender			NS
Male	32 (32)	72 (35.6)
Female	68 (68)	130 (64.3)
HIV-1 subtypes	Not available	all subtype C
Hemoglobin (g/dL, mean, [min, max])	12.4 [5.9–17.30]	12.9 [7.40–16.9]*	0.055 (𝑡-test)
CD4 count (cells/mL) 𝑁 (%)			𝑃=0.02 (Pearson chi-square)
≤200 cells/mL	17 (17.1)	18 (9.0)^§
251–350 cells/mL	23 (23.2)	58 (29.2)
351–500 cells/mL	28 (28.2)	62 (31.3)
>500 cells/mL	31 (31.3)	56 (28.3)
Immunological failure	Not applicable	38 (18.8)
Positive VL/virological failure
Ref VL > 5000 cp/mL	81 (81)	11 (5.4)	𝑃<0.000 (Pearson chi-square)
Ref VL > 1000 cp/mL	92 (92)	14 (6.9)	𝑃<0.000 (Pearson chi-square)
Positive p24 Ag (VLp24 > 3 pg/mL)	51 (51)	36 (17.8)*	𝑃<0.000 (Pearson chi-square)

^§𝑛=194, ^∗𝑛=201, and ^¥𝑛=200.