Pharmaceutical care and evaluation of adherence to antiretroviral therapy in people living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract Highly Active Antiretroviral therapy (HAART) depends on optimal adherence to be effective. Pharmacotherapeutic follow-up can be used as a strategy for treatment fidelity. To provide pharmaceutical care for HAART patients, to assess adherence, to identify and resolve drug related problems (DRP). This is a prospective, interventional study aimed at people on HAART. Data was collected using the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up form and CEAT-VIH. There was a predominance of women (59%), older than 33 years (75%), mostly single (43%). Regarding adherence, 64% had insufficient adherence at the start of the study, while 36% had strict/adequate adherence. After the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, 70% presented strict/adequate adherence. Regarding HAART, the relationship between adhesion versus time of HAART and adherence versus regimen used was significant, considering that less time of therapy and regimen containing protease inhibitors are predictors for insufficient adherence. Regarding the DRP identified (f=77), missed pills (32%), untreated disease, incorrect management frequency, and undue self-medication (12%) were the most frequent. Pharmaceutical interventions (f=137) were predominantly advising related to specific pharmacological treatment (32%), non-pharmacological measures (20%), and medication suspension (9%). Pharmaceutical care was shown to be animportant strategy, within the multi professional team, to improve adherence, besides identifying and resolving DRP.

Benzodiazepine use in Sao Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVES: To report the prevalence and factors associated with the use of benzodiazepines in the general population and those with a mental health condition in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: 5,037 individuals from the Sao Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey data were interviewed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, designed to generate DSM-IV diagnoses. Additionally, participants were asked if they had taken any medication in the previous 12 months for the treatment of any mental health condition. RESULTS: The prevalence of benzodiazepine use ranged from 3.6% in the general population to 7.8% among subjects with a mental health condition. Benzodiazepine use was more prevalent in subjects that had been diagnosed with a mood disorder as opposed to an anxiety disorder (14.7% vs. 8.1%, respectively). Subjects that had been diagnosed with a panic disorder (33.7%) or bipolar I/II (23.3%) reported the highest use. Individuals aged ≥50 years (11.1%), those with two or more disorders (11.2%), those with moderate or severe disorders (10%), and those that used psychiatric services (29.8%) also reported higher use. CONCLUSION: These findings give an overview of the use of benzodiazepines in the general population, which will be useful in the public health domain. Benzodiazepine use was higher in those with a mental health condition, with people that had a mood disorder being the most vulnerable. Furthermore, females and the elderly had high benzodiazepine use, so careful management in these groups is required.

Utilização de psicofármacos pela população geral residente na região metropolitana de São Paulo / Psychotropic medication utilization in the general population resident in the metropolitan area of São Paulo

INTRODUÇÃO: Os transtornos psiquiátricos são altamente prevalentes e têm sido associados ao maior uso de serviços e de medicamentos. Entretanto resultados do World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WHM) Surveys, conduzidos em diversos países, têm apresentado baixas prevalências de uso de psicofármacos entre sujeitos com diagnóstico de transtornos psiquiátricos no ano anterior à entrevista. OBJETIVOS: Estimar a prevalência, o padrão, e os fatores associados ao uso de psicofármacos em amostra da população geral e entre sujeitos com diferentes diagnósticos para doenças psiquiátricas, de acordo com DSM-IV. MÉTODOS: Os dados são provenientes do São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey (SPMHS), segmento brasileiro do estudo World Mental Health Survey (WMH survey). O WMH survey é uma iniciativa da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), da Universidade de Harvard e Universidade de Michigan, que vem sendo realizada em mais de 28 centros de pesquisa no mundo. O São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey é um estudo de corte transversal, de base populacional, desenhado para avaliar a morbidade psiquiátrica em uma amostra representativa da população geral, com 18 anos ou mais, residentes na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo. Uma amostra de 5.037 indivíduos (taxa de resposta: 81,3%) foi entrevistada por leigos treinados, utilizando a versão do Composite International Diagnostic Interview para o World Mental Health Survey, elaborado para gerar diagnósticos de acordo com o DSM-IV. O foco do presente estudo foi uma subamostra de 2.935 entrevistados, os quais foram avaliados com a versão longa da entrevista e que foram questionados sobre psicofármacos prescritos no ano anterior à entrevista para "problemas com emoções, nervos, saúde mental, uso de substâncias, energia, concentração, sono ou a capacidade de lidar com o estresse". Os dados foram ponderados para ajustar a subamostragem dos não casos dessa subamostra e para ajustar as discrepâncias residuais entre as...

INTRODUCTION: Mental Disorders are highly prevalent and have been associated with high use of health services and medications. However results of the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WHM) Surveys carried out in several countries have found low prevalence rates of psychotropic medication among those with 12-month disorders. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence, pattern, and associated factors with the use of psychotropic medication in a sample in the general population and, within this sample, among those with different diagnoses for psychiatric disorders, according to DSM-IV. METHODS: Data were from the São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey (SPMHS), the Brazilian segment of the World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative, coordinated by the World Health Organization and Harvard University, which has been held in more than 28 research centers in the world. The São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey is a cross-sectional population-based study, designed to evaluate psychiatric morbidity in a representative sample in the general population, aged 18 years or more, living in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area. A sample of 5,037 individuals (response rate: 81.3%) was assessed by trained lay interviewers using the World Mental Health version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, designed to generate DSM-IV diagnoses. The focus of the current report was a subsample of 2,935 subjects to whom the long version of the interview was applied and were asked about prescription medicines that used in the previous12 months for "problems with emotions, nerves, mental health, substance use, energy, concentration, sleep or ability to cope with stress". Data were weighted to adjust the undersampling of long interview respondents non-cases and to adjust residual discrepancies between the sample and population distributions of a range of sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: Only 6.13% of the respondents reported psychotropic medication use in the...