КРИТИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ РАННИХ ЭТАПОВ АНТИРЕТРОВИРУСНОЙ ТЕРАПИИ СРЕДИ ВИЧ-ИНФИЦИРОВАННЫХ ЛЮДЕЙ

In Russia, the population of people living with HIV and thus in need for antiretroviral therapy increases each year. The early onset and an optimal long-term adherence to therapy help to suppress HIV replication and to reduce the risk of its transmission. Therefore, it is expedient to assess HIV patients’ adherence to therapy and to determine the main factors that contribute to therapeutic success at the early stages of therapy. Our study group included 100 HIV patients followed-up at Saint-Petersburg AIDS Center and having indications for ART. The endpoint was the percent of patients having undetectable viral loads six months after ART onset, i.e., of the cases of a success achieved at the start of ART. Based on data collected before the therapy, the factors that were associated with the success were determined. Most of study subjects (96%) commenced the therapy, 80% adhered to their therapeutic regimens, and 71% of them were found to have undetectable viral loads at the end of the follow-up. The optimal adherence to ART was associated with older ages and higher education levels (p<0,05). None of factors accounted of, including psychotropic drug abuse and physician’s prognoses regarding adherence, was associated with the success of ART soon after its onset. The findings may be useful for improving the outcomes of ART.