Utilização dos registros de dispensação da farmácia como indicador da não-adesão à terapia anti-retroviral em indivíduos infectados pelo HIV Pharmacy records as an indicator of non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy by HIV-infected patients

Abstract The objectives of this study were to evaluate anti-retroviral (ARV) prescription pickups dur-ing twelve months following the first prescrip-tion and to identify factors associated with ir-regular pickups or permanent dropout in two public HIV/AIDS referral centers in Belo Hori-zonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Participants (n = 323) were antiretroviral naive and were re-cruited from May 2001 to May 2002. A total of 98 (30.3%) patients abandoned treatment, and 187 (57.9%) had at least one irregular pickup. Pa-tients with irregular pickups and dropouts were compared to those with regular pickups. Multi-nomial multivariate analysis showed that liv-ing outside Belo Horizonte, CD4+ T-lymphocyte count greater than 200/mm 3 , and antiretroviral regimen without protease inhibitors were associ-ated with irregular pickups. In addition to these variables, not being on other medications, and any non-adherence recorded on patient charts were associated with treatment dropout. Phar-macy records are important potential indicators of non-adherence and should be incorporated as such in clinical practice. Strategies should be prioritized to reach out to dropouts or patients with irregular ARV pickups.HIV; Acquired Immunodeficiency Sindrome; An-ti-Retroviral Agents; Pharmacy