Hospital admission and its common causes in children on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Lilongwe Malawi between 2001 and 2016: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Table 1. Prevalence of admissions before and after ART initiation.

		Pre-ART	Post-ART initiation
Proportions of children who got admitted		74% (193) 95%CI (68.67–79.33%)	42% (111) 95% (CI 36.00–48.00%)
		p-Value: <0.001
Absolute number of admissions		249	206

Table 2. Prevalence of admission in the first 6 months of ART and after.

	Proportions of children who got admitted	No children who did not get admitted	Total
<6 months after ART initiation	20% (52) 95%CI (15.51–24.86%)	208	260
>6 months after ART initiation	34% (89) 95%CI (28.24–39.76%)	179	260

p-Value: 0.001.

Table 3. Common cause of admission in children on ART.

Condition	Proportion within 6 months (with 95% CI)	Proportion after 6 months (with 95% CI)	p-Value (at 5% significance level)
Pneumonia	23.3% (18.16–28.44%)	17.1% (12.52–21.68%)	p = 0.099
Malaria	18.6% (13.87–23.33%)	24.8% (19.55–30.05%)	p = 0.1
Tuberculosis	16% (11.54–20.40%)	10.5% (6.77–14.23%)	p = 0.07
Anaemia	9.3% (5.77–12.83%)	8.6% (5.19–12.00%)	p = 0.877
Gastroenteritis	8.1% (4.78–11.42%)	8.6% (5.19–12.00%)	p = 0.875
Sepsis	5.8% (2.96–8.64%)	6.7% (3.66–9.74%)	p = 0.72
Cancer	3.5% (1.26–5.73%)	4.8% (2.20–7.40%)	p = 0.696
Others	15.1% (13.72–16.48%)	16.0% (12.36–19.64%)	p = 0.809
Meningitis	0%	2.9% (0.9–4.94%)	p = 0.015

Figure 1. Causes of admission between males and females in the first 6 months of ART initiation.

Figure 2. Causes of admission between males and females 6 months after ART initiation.

Figure 3. Causes of admission between children aged <2 and >2 years within first 6 months of ART initiation.

Figure 4. Causes of admission between children aged <2 and >2 6 months after ART initiation.