OBJECTIVETo analyze the five-year effectiveness of the people living with HIV/AIDS who initially received highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Jiangsu province.

METHODSHIV/AIDS initially received HAART from 1 Jan 2005 to 31 May 2014 in Jiangsu province with the CD4(+)T cell count tested in baseline, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years and 5 years after treatment initiation were selected. According to their retrospectively collected baseline and follow-up data, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 16.0 software to analyze the variation of CD4(+)T counts and its impact factors in different times after treatment initiation.

RESULTSA total of 200 patients were included. A total of 134 patients were men, and 66 were women, the ratio of male to female was 2.03: 1; mean age was (39.7 ± 10.3) years old; 69.0% (138/200) of the patients married; 53.0% (106/200) as the most were infected with HIV through heterosexual transmission, and followed by men who have sex with men (MSM) (25.5%, 51/200); taken together as 78.5% (157/200).58.5% (117/200) were treated in the CDC. The mean (95%CI) baseline CD4(+)T cell count of cases was 106.9 (93.3-120.5) cells/µl; the CD4(+)T count tested in 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years and 5 years after treatment initiation were 107.3, 152.9, 221.6, 260.0, 281.3 and 316.4 cells/µl more than baseline respectively; the CD4(+)T count after treatment initiation has increased over time (F = 201.06, P < 0.01) . The mean(95%CI) CD4(+)T count tested in 5 years after treatment initiation can increase to 540.7(445.4-635.9) cells/µl with a baseline CD4(+)T count more than 200 cells/µl, but in the subgroups with a baseline CD4(+)T count less than or equal to 50 cells/µl, 51-100 cells/µl, 101-150 cells/µl and 151-200 cells/µl, it only can reach to 431.4 (375.9-487.0), 400.0 (339.9-460.2), 380.3 (330.6-430.0) and 412.1 (369.3-454.8) cells/µl respectively. The mean (95%CI) CD4(+)T count tested in 5 years after treatment initiation with 1 baseline symptom categories can increase to 449.2 (392.2-506.2) cells/µl, while 409.1(317.8-500.5)cells/µl in the subgroup with baseline symptom categories more than or equal to 2. The CD4(+)T after treatment increased slowly associated with a lower baseline CD4(+)T count level and more baseline symptom categories (F values were 3.96 and 2.35, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIt has a remarkable effectiveness for HIV/AIDS treatment in Jiangsu province. The patients with a baseline CD4(+)T count more than 200 counts/µl have a better immune function recovery.