Author(s)

Ben Ilunga Bulanda¹, Elvis Tshunza Kateba², Berry Ikolango Bongenia¹, Victor Nyiama Kasongo³, Micheline Abiba Kingombe², Erick Ntambwe Kamangu^1,4*

¹“HIV/AIDS Focus” Research Group, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
²National Program for the Promotion of Traditional Medicine and Medicinal Plants (PNMT/PM), Ministry of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
³Bonkoko Tradi-Modern Center, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
⁴Molecular Biology Service, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Context: In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Antiretroviral (ART) drug coverage is still very low throughout the country. Hence, a large number of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) use traditional treatment made from plants to fight the HIV infection and the opportunistic infection associated to it. Objective: The objective of this work was to evaluate the clinical parameters; para clinical and socio-demographic studies at the beginning of treatment of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) who adhere to traditional treatment in Kinshasa. Methods: A cohort study was conducted in the Bonkoko center with a baseline of 3 months; 97 HIV positive patients were included randomly according to the specific inclusion criteria from January 11, 2016 to April 11, 2016. Clinical, biological and socio-demographic parameters were recorded in all patients at baseline. Results: A total of 97 patients were selected for the job. A total of 79 women (81%) and 18 men (19%) participated voluntarily. The mean age was 40.8 ± 10 years and the most represented age range was 36 - 45 years. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) is 23.07 ± 3.8 at baseline. The married dominated the sample while the dominant religion was the other religions called revival. The level of study that dominated the population was the secondary level. The mean biological values at baseline were as follows: Glycaemia 85 ± 19 mg/dl; Urea 22.5 ± 6.66 mg/dl; Creatinine 0.88 ± 0.22 mg/dl; Total cholesterol 169.6 ± 37.7 mg/dl; HDL 52.6 ± 15.1 mg/dl; LDL 96.4 ± 31.4 mg/dl; Triglyceride 102.8 ± 47 mg/dl; SGPT 23.3 ± 11.1 UI/L; SGOT 22.3 ± 10 UI/L; Amylase 81.9 ± 31.1 UI/L; and the median values for CD4 was 220 cells/ml and for the Viral Load was 4.10 log₁₀ copies of RNA/ml. Conclusion: This study showed that patients who adhere to traditional medicine for the treatment of HIV infection are not different from those starting Antiretroviral into modern centers. The patient is in search of wellness and what is better. These patients followed by Traditional Medicine must be considered and taken care of in an integral way like all PLHIV followed by modern medicine.

HIV, Traditional Medicine, Djovikas, PLHIV, Kinshasa

Bulanda, B. , Kateba, E. , Bongenia, B. , Kasongo, V. , Kingombe, M. and Kamangu, E. (2018) Sociodemographic and Anthropometric Profile of Positive HIV Patients in Early Traditional Treatment: Case of the Bonkoko Center. Open Access Library Journal, 5, 1-8. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1104555.