Evaluation of rapid antiretroviral initiation strategy in a cohort of newly diagnosed people living with HIV in Panama, 2018–2019

Details

• Alternative Title:
  AIDS Care
• Personal Author:
  Alvis-Estrada, Juan Pablo ; Azmitia-Rugg, Andrés ; Sobalvarro-Stolz, Ximena ; Romo-Dueñas, Daniela ; Díaz, Félix ; Martínez, Alexander ; Morales, Rosa Elena ; Chang, Lissette Raquel ; Vega, Natalia ; Araúz, Ana Belén ; Ávila-Montes, Gustavo
• Description:
  Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been adopted as a form of HIV treatment and prevention. This study assesses rapid ART initiation using clinical outcomes such as viral load (VL) and CD4+ T lymphocytes count. Over the course of one year, the progress of newly diagnosed people living with HIV who started ART early in a hospital in Panama City was followed. The evaluation of early initiation of ART in achieving viral suppression (VL <200 copies/ml) was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Additionally, the cost difference between early (first 7 days) and late initiation of ART was evaluated from the perspective of the service provider. In total, 209 people were followed up during the study; 85% were male, 70% started ART on same day from hospital arrival, 80% had suppressed viral load at 6 months, and the median count of CD4 increased from 285 (IQR: 166-429) to 509 (IQR: 373-696) over 12 months. Starting ART early led to a 42% increase for the provider in terms of staffing costs; however, the clients had the opportunity to decrease absenteeism in daily activities. The results reveal that early initiation of ART generates clinical and economic benefits for the person in treatment.
• Subjects:
  Adult Anti-HIV Agents CD4 Lymphocyte Count Female HIV Infections Humans Male Middle Aged Panama Time-to-Treatment Treatment Outcome Viral Load

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• Keywords:
  Antiretroviral Therapy Early Initiation Healthcare And Well-being HIV Partnerships For The Goals Reduced Inequalities
• Source:
  AIDS Care. 36(11):1588-1595
• Pubmed ID:
  38991109
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC11511629
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  U2G GH001285/GH/CGH CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  11
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ba8c467e16919af2e96991e0d67ac766ff9f0143524c7dd0a4d9c3781413f5d556c79711b01a8d4c51d328da6488a9f1ccd8e4e34c505a7acd80a49058b4e3ae
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/168540/cdc_168540_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 409.62 KB ]