The MANGUA Project: A Population-Based HIV Cohort in Guatemala

• Published in: AIDS Research and Treatment Vol. 2015; no. 2015; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Mejía, Carlos, Arathoon, Eduardo, Casabona, Jordi, Study Group, The Mangua Cohort, Ortiz, José Fernando, Santa Marina de León, Luis Roberto, Pinzón, Rodolfo, Nikiforov, Mikhail, Prieto, Luis Alberto, Sabidó, Meritxell, Samayoa, Blanca, García, Juan Ignacio, Ponce, Ernesto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Limiteds 01.01.2015; Hindawi Publishing Corporation; Hindawi Limited; Wiley
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Analysis; Antiviral agents; Care and treatment; Health aspects; HIV; HIV patients; Human immunodeficiency virus; Medical records; Mortality; Tuberculosis; Guatemala
• ISSN: 2090-1240; 2090-1259
• DOI: 10.1155/2015/372816

Introduction. The MANGUA cohort is an ongoing multicenter, observational study of people living with HIV/AIDS in Guatemala. The cohort is based on the MANGUA application which is an electronic database to capture essential data from the medical records of HIV patients in care. Methods. The cohort enrolls HIV-positive adults ≥16 years of age. A predefined set of sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical, and laboratory data are registered at entry to the cohort study. Results. As of October 1st, 2012, 21 697 patients had been included in the MANGUA cohort (median age: 33 years, 40.3% female). At enrollment 74.1% had signs of advanced HIV infection and only 56.3% had baseline CD4 cell counts. In the first 12 months after starting antiretroviral treatment 26.9% (n=3938) of the patients were lost to the program. Conclusions. The implementation of a cohort of HIV-positive patients in care in Guatemala is feasible and has provided national HIV indicators to monitor and evaluate the HIV epidemic. The identified percentages of late presenters and high rates of LTFU will help the Ministry to target their current efforts in improving access to diagnosis and care.