HIV drug resistance in patients in China’s national HIV treatment programme who have been on first-line ART for at least 9 months

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess trends in drug resistance and associated clinical and programmatic factors at a national level during the rapid scale up of ART. METHODS: Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with HIVDR. Variables associated with drug resistance in multivariable logistic regression were included in the Cochran–Armitage test for trend. RESULTS: A total of 11,976 patients were enrolled in the study. The prevalence of HIVDR among patients who received ART for 9–24 months during 2003–2008, 2009–2012, and 2013–2015 significantly decreased (15.5%, 6.3%, and 2.3%, respectively, P < 0.01). With respect to the class of antiretroviral, there were substantial increases in resistance to both non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) (2003–2008, 2009–2012, and 2013–2015: 49.7%, 58.9%, and 73.0%, respectively, P < 0.01). The prevalence of DR to protease inhibitors (PIs) was low, which supported their continued use as second-line therapy in China. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide evidence for the effectiveness of China’s “Treat All” approach to guide policy makers to improve training for healthcare providers and education on ART adherence among patients.