title: Differences in prescription of antiretroviral therapy in a large cohort of HIV-infected patients.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with prescription of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The authors observed 9530 patients eligible for antiretroviral therapy (ART) in more than 100 hospitals and clinics in 10 US cities. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess factors associated with HAART prescription, stratifying patients by no history versus history of ART to assess the association between prescription and CD4, viral load, and outpatient visits. Overall, female gender (odds ratio [OR], 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60-0.76) and alcoholism (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74-0.99) were associated with decreased likelihood of HAART prescription. Enrollment at a private facility (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.14-1.56), heterosexual exposure (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.13-1.58), and Hispanic ethnicity (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.04-1.37) were associated with prescription. For patients with no history of prescribed ART, CD4 <500 cells/microL (OR, 3.94; 95% CI, 2.02-7.66), and high viral load were associated with increased likelihood of prescription; for patients with history of ART prescription, those whose outpatient visits averaged > or =2 per 6-month interval (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.10-1.54) were more likely and those with high viral load were less likely to be prescribed HAART (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.44-0.56). The authors found differences in HAART prescription by gender, race, exposure mode, alcoholism, and provider type for all patients, by CD4 and viral load for patients with no history of ART prescription, and by average number of outpatient visits and viral load for patients with history of ART prescription.
authors.affiliation: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Mail Stop E47, Atlanta, GA 30333, U.S.A. mcnaghtena@zimcdc.co.zw
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: McNaghten
authors.forename: Debra L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dworkin
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors