Pharmacy and self-report adherence measures to predict virological outcomes for patients on free antiretroviral therapy in Tamil Nadu, India

James H. McMahon, Anand Manoharan, Christine A. Wanke, Shoba Mammen, Hepsibah Jose, Thabeetha Malini, Tony Kadavanu, Michael R. Jordan, Julian H. Elliott, Sharon R. Lewin, Dilip Mathai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Over 480,000 individuals receive free antiretroviral therapy (ART) in India yet data associating ART adherence with HIV viral load for populations exclusively receiving free ART are not available. Additionally estimates of adherence using pharmacy data on ART pick-up are not available for any population in India. After 12-months ART we found self-reported estimates of adherence were not associated with HIV viral load. Individuals with <100 % adherence using pharmacy data predicted HIV viral load, and estimates combining pharmacy data and self-report were also predictive. Pharmacy adherence measures proved a feasible method to estimate adherence in India and appear more predictive of virological outcomes than self-report. Predictive adherence measures identified in this study warrant further investigation in populations receiving free ART in India to allow for identification of individuals at risk of virological failure and in need of adherence support.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2253-2259
Number of pages7
JournalAIDS and Behavior
Volume17
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adherence
  • Antiretroviral therapy
  • HIV
  • India
  • Virological outcomes

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