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Published:
Jul 10, 2013Keywords:
HIV antiretroviral drugs efficacy Nigeria
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A decade of Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Nigeria: Efficacy of First Line Regimens in Treatment-Naive HIV/AIDS Patients.
Abstract
Background: The proportion of persons who become infected with resistant strains of HIV may be increasing. We assessed the efficacy of first line anti-retroviral (ARV) regimens since they were first introduced in Nigeria.
Methods: A descriptive prospective cohort study comparing baseline body mass index (BMI), CD+4 counts th and viral load (VL) with those obtained at 6th month of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 300 HIV infected treatment-naive patients. Data were analysed with Epi-Info version 3.3 software and a probability value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The mean BMI at baseline of 22.9±4.6 kg/m2 th increased to 24.6±4.4 kg/m2 at 6th month of HAART. Therefore, the absolute increase in mean BMI was 1.7kg/m2 and was statistically significant p<0.05. The median CD4+ counts at baseline and at the end of the study shows counts of 127 cells/μl and 236 cells/μl respectively. This corresponds to a median increase of 109 cells/μl but was not statistically significant p=>0.05. When immunological response was measured as an increase from baseline of at least 50cells/μl, the proportion of patients with CD4+ count increase = 50cells/μl at the sixth month of HAART was 68%. The baseline median viral load was log1o 4.90, log10 (IQR 3.41-6.41) but became less than log10 2.60, log10 (IQR 2.60-5.26) at 6th month of HAART. Hence, a median viral load reduction of at least log10 2.30 p<0.05 was achieved.
Conclusion: This study supports the belief that using limited ARV regimens can result in acceptable treatment outcomes many years after they were first introduced.
Key Words: HIV, antiretroviral drugs, efficacy, Nigeria
Methods: A descriptive prospective cohort study comparing baseline body mass index (BMI), CD+4 counts th and viral load (VL) with those obtained at 6th month of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 300 HIV infected treatment-naive patients. Data were analysed with Epi-Info version 3.3 software and a probability value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The mean BMI at baseline of 22.9±4.6 kg/m2 th increased to 24.6±4.4 kg/m2 at 6th month of HAART. Therefore, the absolute increase in mean BMI was 1.7kg/m2 and was statistically significant p<0.05. The median CD4+ counts at baseline and at the end of the study shows counts of 127 cells/μl and 236 cells/μl respectively. This corresponds to a median increase of 109 cells/μl but was not statistically significant p=>0.05. When immunological response was measured as an increase from baseline of at least 50cells/μl, the proportion of patients with CD4+ count increase = 50cells/μl at the sixth month of HAART was 68%. The baseline median viral load was log1o 4.90, log10 (IQR 3.41-6.41) but became less than log10 2.60, log10 (IQR 2.60-5.26) at 6th month of HAART. Hence, a median viral load reduction of at least log10 2.30 p<0.05 was achieved.
Conclusion: This study supports the belief that using limited ARV regimens can result in acceptable treatment outcomes many years after they were first introduced.
Key Words: HIV, antiretroviral drugs, efficacy, Nigeria
