Prevalence and factors associated with Mycobacteremia and mortality among febrile HIV infected patients in Mwanza, Tanzania

Abstract Objectives This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with mycobacteremia and mortality among febrile HIV infected patients in developing countries. Methods A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among febrile HIV patients admitted at Bugando Medical centre and Sekou Toure hospital between November 2016 and March 2017. Blood culture was done on BACTEC Myco/F Lytic bottles. Clinical and demographic data were collected using a pre-tested data collection tool. Results A total of 154 patients with the mean age of 41.5±12.2 were enrolled. Females formed the majority, 93 (60%) of the study participants. The prevalence of Mycobacteremia was 3.3% while that of other bacteria was 8.4%. Age (p=0.03), recent HIV diagnosis (p=0.005), not taking HAART (p=0.031) and low CD4+ count (p=0.002) were significantly associated with Mycobacteremia. Factors significantly associated with 14-day in-hospital mortality were advanced HIV infection (p Conclusion The prevalence of Mycobacteremia was low; however, it was significantly associated with mortality. Mycobacteremia should be suspected in high risk febrile HIV infected individuals followed by early appropriate treatment in order to reduce associated morbidity and mortality.