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Azra Farooqui1, Mehjabeen Unnisa1, Asna Khatoon1, Umme Romana Ghouse1, Md. Avez Ali1, Mohd. Abdul Quddus2, J.A. Ansari1.
1Department of Pharmacy Practice (PharmD), MESCO College of Pharmacy, Hyderabad, T.S., INDIA.
2Department of ART, Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad, T.S., INDIA.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Volume 5, Issue 4, Page 225-235.

*Author for correspondence
E-mail: owais4peace@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Background: An estimated 36.7 million people are infected with HIV. Despite the availability of free ART services, deaths due to AIDS still exist, and the prevalence of HIV is still high. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the utilization pattern, safety, efficacy and adherence to the ART regimen and to determine the prevalence of OIs in HIV infected patients.
Subject and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital on subjects who were prescribed ART. Prescribed treatment was co-related with NACO guidelines. MMAS questionnaire was used for the assessment of adherence. Multivariate and univariate logistic regression was used to assess the factors influencing treatment co-relation of the given regimen and adherence of ART. ADRs were also assessed for their causality, severity, and preventability as per the standard algorithm and bivariate analysis with odds ratio.
Results: Out of patients evaluated, prescriptions of 76% were complying with guidelines. On the MMAS scale, 72 % of patients were adherent and most common reason for non-adherence was forgetting to take medications (38.3%). Tuberculosis (54.1%) was the most common opportunistic infection, most common regimen which caused ADR’s was ZLN and most common ADR was rash (56%). On the evaluation of the causality of ADRs, the majority were probable, the severity assessment showed most patients with ADRs were of level 3 and the preventability assessment showed all observed ADRs were non-preventable.
Conclusion: Most patients were prescribed initial treatments in agreement with the guideline to achieve maximal and durable suppression of viral load. The prevalence of commonly reported OIs HIV-infected individuals demands the need for early screening and to increase awareness in healthcare providers in order to improve decisions regarding prophylaxis for prevention and adequate therapeutic planning. A healthcare professional must monitor adverse effects and adherence efficiently.
Keywords: HIV, ART, MMAS, Hemoglobin, CD4, ARV.