Adherence and clinical outcomes of HIV patients switching to a fixed-dose combination regimen

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is monitored using clinical markers such as viral load (VL) and CD4 counts. Adherence to ART has been associated with viral suppression and improved clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between adherence status with multiple-tablet regimens (MTR) and fixed-dose combination (FDC) regimens, to weight, CD4 count and VL of patients living with HIV. METHOD: An observational, descriptive study was conducted on a closed cohort of patients living with HIV and attending a primary health care clinic in Northern Cape in South Africa between 01 January 2013 and 31 December 2015. Patients were on an MTR and changed to an FDC regimen. Adherence was measured using the medicine possession ratio (MPR). RESULTS: Statistically significant differences exist between the mean MPR of the 30-day (p = 0.0308) and 28-day supply (p < 0.0001) of the MTR when compared to FDC regimen. No statistically significant differences could be found between adherence and clinical outcomes such as weight, CD4 count and VL for either MTR or FDC regimens. The suppressed VL values measured for MTR were n = 299 (89.25%) and n = 415 (93.05%) for FDC regimen. CONCLUSION: Adherence improved when patients were switched to FDC, but no statistically significant differences in clinical outcomes measured as weight, CD4 count and VL between adherence status and regimen type could be found. CONTRIBUTION: This study contributes to much-needed information about ART adherence and clinical outcomes (such as weight, CD4 count and VL) of adult HIV-positive patients in a public healthcare clinic in the Northern Cape, South Africa.