title: [Pharmacy records as an indicator of non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy by HIV-infected patients].
abstract: The objectives of this study were to evaluate anti-retroviral (ARV) prescription pickups during twelve months following the first prescription and to identify factors associated with irregular pickups or permanent dropout in two public HIV/AIDS referral centers in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Participants (n = 323) were antiretroviral naïve and were recruited from May 2001 to May 2002. A total of 98 (30.3%) patients abandoned treatment, and 187 (57.9%) had at least one irregular pickup. Patients with irregular pickups and dropouts were compared to those with regular pickups. Multinomial multivariate analysis showed that living outside Belo Horizonte, CD4+ T-lymphocyte count greater than 200/mm(3), and antiretroviral regimen without protease inhibitors were associated with irregular pickups. In addition to these variables, not being on other medications, and any non-adherence recorded on patient charts were associated with treatment dropout. Pharmacy records are important potential indicators of non-adherence and should be incorporated as such in clinical practice. Strategies should be prioritized to reach out to dropouts or patients with irregular ARV pickups.
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Epidemiologia e Informação, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Brasil. quelfmg@medicina.ufmg.br
authors.forename: Raquel Regina de Freitas Magalhães
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Carla Jorge
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: Francisco de Assis
authors.initials: Fde A
authors.lastname: Acurcio
authors.forename: Mark Drew Crosland
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Guimarães
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001938:Brazil; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010594:Pharmacies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents