Virologic failure in people living with HIV in 1st line ART: A 10-year Mexican population-based study.

BACKGROUND: In Mexico, the number of people living with HIV (PLWH) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased in the last 20 years. The elimination of a CD4 threshold to initiate publicly funded ART was a major policy implemented in 2014. The study objective was to assess the determinants of Virologic Failure (VF) in Mexican PLWH on first-line ART between 2008 and 2017 and to evaluate the effects of changes following the 2014 policy. METHODS: A 10-year patient-level data analysis was conducted using the Mexican SALVAR database. The main outcome was the proportion of PLWH with VF. A multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify the association between covariates and VF before and after the 2014 policy implementation. RESULTS: We found a lower proportion of people with VF in 2014-2017 compared with 2008-2013 (50% vs 33%, p<0.001). The multivariable analysis showed a reduction in the odds of virologic failure after 2014 (Odds ratio: 0.50 [95% CI: 0.48-0.51]). Place of treatment and level of deprivation were significant predictors of VF in during 2014-2017, but not before. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that, by lowering threshold levels of CD4 required for treatment initiation in Mexico, a higher number of PLWH initiated treatment during 2014-2017, compared to 2008-2013 and the odds of VF were reduced.

Patient characteristics and determinants of CD4 at diagnosis of HIV in Mexico from 2008 to 2017: a 10-year population-based study.

BACKGROUND: In 2007-2012 the Mexican government launched the National HIV program and there was a major change in HIV policies implemented in 2013-2018, when efforts focused on prevention, increase in early diagnosis and timely treatment. Still, late HIV diagnosis is a major concern in Mexico due to its association with the development of AIDS development and mortality. Thus, the objectives of this study were to identify the determinants of late HIV diagnosis (i.e. CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm3) in Mexico from 2008 to 2017 and to evaluate the impact of the 2013-2017 National HIV program. METHODS: Using patient level data from the SALVAR database, which includes 64% of the population receiving HIV care in Mexico, an adjusted logistic model was conducted. Main study outcomes were HIV late diagnosis which was defined as CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm3 at diagnosis. RESULTS: The study included 106,830 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV and treated in Mexican public health facilities between 2008 and 2017 (mean age: 33 years old, 80% male). HIV late diagnosis decreased from 45 to 43% (P < 0.001) between 2008 and 2012 and 2013-2017 (i.e. before and after the implementation of the 2013-2017 policy). Multivariable logistic regressions indicated that being diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.96 [95% Confidence interval [CI] [0.93, 0.98]) or in health facilities specialized in HIV care (OR = 0.64 [95% CI 0.60, 0.69]) was associated with early diagnosis. Being male, older than 29 years old, diagnosed in Central East, the South region of Mexico or in high-marginalized locality increased the odds of a late diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the 2013-2017 National HIV program in Mexico has been marginally successful in decreasing the proportion of individuals with late HIV diagnosis in Mexico. We identified several predictors of late diagnosis which could help establishing health policies. The main determinants for late diagnosis were being male, older than 29 years old, and being diagnosed in a Hospital or National Institute.

Predictors of adherence and virologic outcome in HIV-infected patients treated with abacavir- or indinavir-based triple combination HAART also containing lamivudine/zidovudine.

OBJECTIVES: To compare dosing convenience and adherence with abacavir (ABC) 300 mg plus a fixed-dose lamivudine 150 mg/zidovudine 300 mg combination tablet (COM) twice daily versus indinavir (IDV) plus COM twice daily in treatment-naïve, HIV-1-infected adults; and to evaluate the association among difficulty taking antiretroviral regimens, adherence, and virologic efficacy. METHODS: An open-label, randomized, multicenter, international study compared the COM/ABC and IDV/COM regimens with respect to self-reported adherence and regimen convenience over 48 weeks. Logistic regression analysis (LRA) was done on a patient sub-sample from both groups to evaluate predictors of adherence and virologic response at last time-point on randomized therapy (LTORT). RESULTS: The study population was diverse with respect to ethnicity (38% Asian, 27% Hispanic, 28% white, 3% black, 4% other) and gender (39% women, 61% men). Baseline median HIV-1 RNA was 4.80 log(10) copies/mL and CD4+ cell count was 315 cells/mm(3). Of 329 patients who were randomized and received treatment, 315 (96%) provided adherence data. Significantly more patients in the ABC/COM group than in the IDV/COM group reported > or = 95% adherence to therapy (76 vs 58%, p < 0.001) and no difficulty in taking their regimen (91 vs 61%, p < 0.001). In both groups, the highest probability of HIV-1 RNA < 400 copies/mL occurred when median adherence was > or = 95%. The probability of HIV-1 RNA < 400 copies/mL declined more rapidly in the IDV/COM group as adherence rates decreased. LRA showed that no difficulty taking any of the drugs in the regimen, ABC/COM treatment group, and male gender were independent significant predictors of > or = 95% adherence (p < 0.05). Median adherence and baseline HIV-1 RNA were significant predictors of HIV-1 RNA < 400 copies/mL (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients reported greater ease of use and superior adherence to ABC/COM than IDV/COM. Patient-reported difficulty taking drugs in a regimen was predictive of reduced adherence, and both of the latter factors were predictive of poorer virologic outcome. Adherence levels of > or = 95% in both treatment groups maximized the probability of patients achieving an HIV-1 RNA < 400 copies/mL.