Resumen:
There are limited data on infants with HIV starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the neonatal period. We investigated the association between the timing of ART initiation and time-to-suppression among infants who tested HIV-positive and initiated ART within the first 28 days of life. The effect was estimated using cumulative probability flexible parametric spline models and a multivariable generalized additive mixed model was performed to test non-linear associations. Forty-four neonates were included. Nineteen (43.2%) initiated ART within 7 days of life and 25 (56.8%) from 8 to 28 days. Infants treated within 7 days were 4-fold more likely to suppress earlier than those treated after 7 days (HR 4.01 [1.7;9.5]). For each week the ART initiation was delayed, the probability of suppression decreased by 35% (HR 0.65 [0.46;0.92]). Age at ART start was linearly associated with time-to-suppression. However, a linear association with normally distributed residuals was not found between baseline VL and time-to-suppression, with no association found when baseline viral loads were ≤ 5 log(10) copies/ml, but with exponential increase in time-to-suppression with > 5 log(10) copies/ml at baseline. Starting...