Safety of Cotrimoxazole in HIV- and HAART-exposed Infants in Botswana

Each year, more than 2 million children are born to HIV-infected women. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that these infants receive cotrimoxazole (CTX) prophylaxis starting at 4-6 weeks of age until the period of infant HIV transmission risk is over, and the infant is known to be HIV-uninfected. There is also increasing interest in studying CTX prophylaxis given to all infants of HIV-infected women at the time of initiation of replacement feeding, regardless of infant HIV infection status, to mitigate the high risk of infant morbidity and mortality associated with formula feeding in the developing world. However, infant in utero exposure to maternal antiretroviral drugs can lead to hematologic toxicities in infants. It is critical to know whether infant CTX prophylaxis exacerbates the hematologic toxicity associated with perinatal ARV exposure. This question, with broad public health implications, has never been studied.

We will study the hematologic toxicity associated with CTX prophylaxis given to infants exposed to maternal HAART in Botswana. We will use existing data from a large cohort that did not receive CTX, and enroll a smaller cohort that does receive CTX according to Botswana national guidelines.