Importance of dose timing to achieving undetectable viral loads.
Little is known about the importance of dose timing to successful antiretroviral therapy (ART). In a cohort comprised of Chinese HIV/AIDS patients, we measured adherence among subjects for 6 months using three methods in parallel: self-report using a visual analog scale (SR-VAS), pill count, and electronic drug monitors (EDM). We calculated two adherence metrics using the EDM data. The first metric used the proportion of doses taken; the second metric credited doses as adherent only if taken within a 1-h window of a pre-specified dose time (EDM 'proportion taken within dose time'). Of the adherence measures, EDM had the strongest associations with viral suppression. Of the two EDM metrics, incorporating dose timing had a stronger association with viral suppression. We conclude that dose timing is also an important determinant of successful ART, and should be considered as an additional dimension to overall adherence.
Center for International Health and Development, Boston University of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA. cgill@bu.edu
Christopher J
CJ
Gill
Lora L
LL
Sabin
Davidson H
DH
Hamer
Xu
X
Keyi
Zhang
Z
Jianbo
Tao
T
Li
Wan-Ju
WJ
Wu
Ira B
IB
Wilson
Mary Bachman
MB
Desilva
D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D044466:Asian People; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002681:China; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D019562:Viral Load; D016903:Drug Monitoring
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents