Assessment of Renal Insufficiency among Patients under Anti-retroviral Therapy at Gitwe District Hospital

Background: Several antiretroviral agents (ARVs) are associated with chronic renal impairment. Renal insufficiency is poor function of the kidneys that may be due to a reduction in blood-flow to the kidneys caused by renal artery disease. Globally the prevalence of renal insufficiency, defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, among Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) ranges between 3% - 7%. Aim: This study aims to determine the Prevalence of Renal Insufficiency among Patients under Antiretroviral Therapy at Gitwe District Hospital. Methodology: An institution-based retrospective study was conducted from 2023 to 2024 on a subset of HIV-infected patients. Data were collected from the register book of patients under antiretroviral therapy attending Gitwe District Hospital. Results: After data analysis, the findings have shown that the majority of patients 68(46.9%) were with moderate renal insufficiency, 53(36.6%) were with mild renal insufficiency, 20(13.8%) were with normal kidney function and 4(2.8%) were with severe renal insufficiency. Conclusion: Moderate and mild renal insufficiency have a high prevalence among patients exposed to antiretroviral therapy at Gitwe District Hospital. Severe renal insufficiency was observed to be reduced in HIV Patients exposed to ART. Normal kidney cases were few compared to renal insufficiency cases. Further studies are recommended to determine the need of drinking water in prevention of progression from mild and moderate to severe renal insufficiency.