Estudio transversal de comorbilidades y medicaciones concomitantes en una cohorte de pacientes infectados por el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana

AIM: To assess the prevalence of comorbidities, concomitant therapies and adverse effects associated with the medication in a cohort of patients with HIV infection. DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. SETTINGS: Infectious Diseases or Internal Medicine outpatient Clinics of 3 hospitals in the Basque Country. PARTICIPANTS: During a 3 month period, patients with the following inclusion criteria were randomly selected: HIV infection, age > 18 years, antiretroviral treatment (ART) for at least 6 months, and no changes in ART in the previous 4 weeks. A total of 224 patients (of the 225 expected) were included. MEASUREMENTS: Data were collected using a form, and include, epidemiological and anthropometric data, data related to HIV infection, comorbidities, current therapies, and adverse effects. RESULTS: Of the 224 patients, 95.5% had at least one comorbidity, the most common being HCV infection (51.3%), dyslipidaemia (37.9%), diabetes mellitus or impaired fasting glucose (21.9%), and hypertension (21.9%). A total of 155 patients (69.2%) were taking concomitant medication: anxiolytics (21.4%), antihypertensives (19.6%), proton pump inhibitors (17.9%), statins (17%), and antidepressants (16.5%). Adverse effects (AE) were observed in 62.9% of subjects, the most common being, changes in body fat distribution (32.6%) and gastrointestinal (24.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with HIV infection are getting older, with more comorbidities, with very frequent use of concomitant treatments, and high number of adverse effects. This requires a multidisciplinary approach and a coordinated effort within the Primary Care setting.