Résumé
Background: Tenofovir-based daily oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV PrEP) is a highly efficacious HIV prevention modality, but sustained use over time is needed for continued protection among individuals at high risk for HIV exposure. Suboptimal adherence and retention in care threaten to diminish the impact of HIV PrEP on reducing HIV burden. PrEP PERU is an ongoing, multi-site, prospective cohort study evaluating HIV PrEP implementation among adult men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) accessing care at non-government health centers in Peru. We sought to evaluate HIV PrEP adherence and retention in care among PrEP PERU participants prior to the onset of COVID-19 service disruptions. Method(s): We analyzed baseline and follow-up data from the PrEP PERU study through 3/15/2020, the first day of Peru's COVID-19 lockdown. MSM and TGW >=18 years of age with at least one HIV risk factor were eligible for enrollment. After the first follow-up visit at 4 weeks, TDF/FTC refills and clinic visits occur quarterly, at the discretion of the prescribing clinician. The medication is provided free of charge, but participants pay for laboratory testing plus a small service fee for clinic visits. Data is collected at baseline and quarterly follow-up visits on sexual risk behaviors and HIV PrEP use. We used bivariate analysis to evaluate the association between baseline factors and 6-month HIV PrEP retention in care. As a proxy for adherence, pharmacy dispensation records were used to calculate the proportion of days covered (PDC) by TDF/FTC. Result(s): Overall, 351 participants started TDF/FTC at four study sites in Lima from 1/23/2017 to 3/15/2020. Of this analysis population, 94% were cisgender men, 10% identified as bisexual, and median age was 31 (interquartile range [IQR], 27 - 38). Among those with at least 6 months of observation time (n=302), 91% attended >=1 follow-up visit and 77% attended >=2 follow-up visits during the 6 months after enrollment. The proportion with favorable adherence (PDC >=0.8) was 85%. There were 6 confirmed HIV seroconversions in the analysis period (1.2 per 100 person-years). Conclusion(s): In this analysis of HIV PrEP outcomes among MSM and TGW prior to COVID-19 pandemic disruptions in Peru, over 3/4 of the population remained in care and had favorable measures of adherence during the first 6 months after.