ABSTRACT
Background: Nonadherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) may encourage the development of resistance to antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). Poor adherence is known to be associated with ART failure which could compromise the benefits of ART in children. Therefore; it is important to identify the reasons why children on ART may fail to take their ARVs. In this study; we described the characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infected children with ART nonadherence as well as the reasons for their nonadherence. Methodology: A retrospective cohort study in which data on 580 HIV-1 infected children enrolled on ART between February 2006 and December 2010 at the pediatric HIV clinic of the Jos University Teaching Hospital; Jos; was analyzed. Subjects were aged 2 months to 15 years. Information on adherence was obtained by child or caregiver self-report. They also had repeated adherence counseling during each clinic follow-up visit and were taught the use of alarm clocks daily for reminding them of when the next ARV dose will be due. Results: There were 30 (5.2) children with non-adherence to ART. Among children with nonadherence; majority were: Children aged 1-10 years (76.7); males (53.3) and did not know their diagnosis of HIV (90.9). The odds of nonadherence was two times higher among children who failed first-line ART compared with those who did not (odds ratio [95 confidence interval]; 2.28 [1.03-5.02]; P = 0.04). The most common reason for nonadherence was: Forgot to take medications (46.7). Conclusion: The low rate of nonadherence to ART in this study could be attributed to repeated adherence counseling during each clinic follow-up visit and the use of alarm clocks daily for reminders on when the next ARV dose will be due