Resistance profile of children and adolescents infected with HIV-1 in urban areas in Togo.

Introduction: Children and adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to virologic failure and the emergence of resistance. The objective of our study was to determine the resistance patterns in adolescents on antiretroviral therapy at Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lome, Togo.

Methods: From June 1 to September 30, 2014, we included patients who had been on HAART for more than 12 months in the pediatric ward of Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital. Patients with an HIV viral load ≥ 1000 copies underwent resistance genotyping.

Results: Virologic failure was found in 36 of the 198 children and adolescents in the study (18.2%). Half were in WHO stage 3,72.2% were treated with a combination of two NRTIs (nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) and one NNRTI (non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor). The mutations were mostly found in the NNRTI class with 100% mutations for EFV and NVP. The mutations associated with the most frequent NRTIs were M184V, Y181C, and T215Y.

Conclusion: Our study shows the need to use PIs (boosted protease inhibitors) in most children treated with NNRTI. It is necessary to strengthen the virological monitoring of children on HAART.