Objective To understand the compliance of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) and influencing factors in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Nanjing. Methods PLWHA receiving HAART in No. 2 Hospital of Nanjing during May-June 2014 were recruited in this study. Self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect the data about HAART compliance and socio-demographic characteristics of PLWHA surveyed. Descriptive and multivariate statistical analysis were conducted to examine the effects of the factors on self-reported HAART adherence. Results A total of 276 PLWHA were surveyed,According to the evaluation criterion of Center for Adherence Support Evaluation (CASE),252 cases showed good compliance (91.3%). logistic regression analysis revealed that smoking,progress of the disease and side effects,reminding of taking drug and age were correlated with self-reported HAART adherence. Conclusion It is suggested to strengthen the education about antiviral therapy compliance in PLWHA with mild infection and those who are smokers and young,suffer from side effects,have no reminding methods for taking drug.

OBJECTIVETo understand the economic burden caused by antiretroviral treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and influencing factors in Nanjing.

METHODSPeople living with HIV/AIDS were divided into two groups, HIV infected patients and AIDS patients. The data about their direct medical expenditure, direct non-medical expenditure and indirect economic loss in the past year were collected. Univariate and multivariate analysis were conducted to identify the potential influencing factors.

RESULTSThe median of direct medical expenditure and total costs for 133 HIV infected patients were 1,200 yuan RMB and 1,972 yuan RMB respectively. The median of direct medical expenditure and total costs for 145 AIDS patients were 1 060 yuan RMB and 2 826 yuan RMB respectively. The differences in direct medical expenditure and total costs between HIV infected patients and AIDS patients showed no statistical significance. The results from univariate analysis indicated that the sample source influenced total costs significantly. Multivariate analysis showed that onset time and CD level were negatively correlated with direct medical expenditure. The patients infected through heterosexual contact had more direct medical expenditure than those infected through homosexual contact. The patients receiving HIV test in hospitals had more direct medical expenditure than those receiving volunteer counseling and testing.

CONCLUSIONFurther efforts should be made to expand HIV testing and treatment coverage in order to detect HIV infections as early as possible. Early antiretroviral treatment should be given to HIV infected patients to maintain their immunity and reduce their medical expenditure.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; economics ; Anti-Retroviral Agents ; economics ; therapeutic use ; China ; Cost of Illness ; Counseling ; HIV Infections ; drug therapy ; economics ; Health Expenditures ; statistics & numerical data ; Heterosexuality ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Voluntary Programs

OBJECTIVETo understand the incidence of drop out of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people living with AIDS/HIV and related factors in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and Yuncheng, Shanxi province.

METHODSRetrospective cohort analysis was conducted. The cumulative incidence curves of drop out of ART, mortality and drug withdrawal were drawn with Kaplan-Meier method. The related factors were identified with Cox proportional hazards regression model.

RESULTSA total of 1 006 patients were included in Yuncheng, the median length of ART follow-up was 49.59 months (QR: 20.02-92.84), and 976 patients were included in Nanjing, the median length of ART follow-up was 19.93 months (QR: 11.48-34.07). The cumulative incidence of drop out of ART at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 4 years, 8 years after ART was 8.19%, 9.23%, 11.08%, 13.75%, 17.74%, 27.66% in Yuncheng, and 3.01%, 5.17%, 7.47%, 10.97%, 17.45%, 28.72% in Nanjing respectively. Age, marital status, infection route, baseline CD4 cell count, the clinical stage classified by WHO at the end of the observation were correlated with the drop out of ART.

CONCLUSIONIn order to reduce the drop out of ART among people living with AIDS/HIV, it is necessary to conduct effective interventions targeting the patients with young age, the patients who divorced/widowed, the patients who were intravenous drug users, the patients with higher CD4 cell count at the beginning of ART and clinical stage III or IV at the end of the follow-up and increase the coverage of HIV test.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; Anti-Retroviral Agents ; administration & dosage ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; China ; Communicable Diseases ; Humans ; Incidence ; Medication Adherence ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies