title: Survival benefit from non-highly active antiretroviral therapy in a resource-constrained setting.
abstract: Mortality rates among HIV-1-infected patients attending a government hospital in northern Thailand were investigated to evaluate the effect of antiretroviral (ARV) drug therapy on mortality. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data and history of ARV drug therapy were collected from all HIV-1-infected adult patients who attended the Day Care Center clinic from October 2, 1995 through October 31, 1999. The survival status of patients until October 31, 1999 was ascertained from the hospital records, mailing letters, and death certificates at the Provincial Health Office. Of 1110 patients who attended the clinic, we had data on duration of follow-up for 1081 (97%) with a total of 1175 person-years of observation; 607 (54.7%) patients died. Clinical status, CD4 group, ARV drug group, and registered year were independently associated with death. The adjusted hazard ratio of monotherapy to no therapy was 0.65 (95% CI: 0.48, 0.87; p = .001) and that of dual therapy was 0.43 (95% CI: 0.29, 0.62; p < .001). The mortality rate of patients attending a government hospital in northern Thailand is high. Suboptimum ARV drug regimens like dual therapy had a substantial survival benefit. Further cost reduction for multiple ARV drug regimens is impatiently awaited.
authors.affiliation: Day Care Center, Lampang Hospital, Lampang, Thailand. panitapa@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Panita
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pathipvanich
authors.forename: Koya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ariyoshi
authors.forename: Archawin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rojanawiwat
authors.forename: Suchint
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wongchoosie
authors.forename: Pipat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yingseree
authors.forename: Kunito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshiike
authors.forename: Paijit
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Warachit
authors.forename: Pathom
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sawanpanyalert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality; D015497:HIV-1; D006773:Hospitals, Municipal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents