Cameroon adopted dolutegravir-based regimen in 2020 as the first-line treatment of HIV infection, as recommended by the World Health Organization on the basis of efficacy, high genetic barriers to drug resistance, low toxicity, and low cost. Our main objective was to evaluate the efficacy of dolutegravir-based regimen among HIV-infected children.

We performed a retrospective hospital-based cohort study over a 5-month period at the pediatric day care unit of Bamenda Regional Hospital among HIV-infected children aged 3–15 years. Data was collected using a predesigned questionnaire and was analyzed with SPSS v.27.0 using the appropriate statistical test. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

We included 207 participants: 139 in the efavirenz (EFV) group and 68 in the dolutegravir (DTG) group. The mean viral load was lower in the DTG group than in the EFV group with mean viral load differences of 3,679 copies/ml, 2,245 copies/ml, and 3,207 copies/ml at 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months, respectively. The viral load suppression rate was higher in the DTG group than in the EFV group at 6 months (63.2 % vs 51.1 %, p  = 0.099), at 12 months (80.9 % vs 64.7 %, p  = 0.017), and at 24 months (83.8 % vs 70.5 %, p  = 0.038). Children on DTG achieved virologic suppression quicker than children on EFV (9 months vs 10 months, p  = 0.178).

Children on dolutegravir had good viral load suppression compared with children on efavirenz.