title: [Follow-up study on 84 AIDS patients having received the replaced therapy program for six months in one county of Henan, China].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the situation of AIDS patients who had received replaced therapy program in Henan province.
  
  
  METHODS
  84 AIDS patients had been enrolled into the national free first-line antiretroviral treatment for more than 5 years and would soon be replaced with another antiretroviral treatment program, were selected to a follow-up program to be carried out six months later. Data on CD4(+) t-lymphocyte count, viral load and genotypic resistance were included in the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The DDI+AZT+NVP treatment program was used by all the 84 patients at baseline. A replacement by 3TC + AZT + NVP (post first-line) in 31 patients and 3TC + TDF + LPV/r (second-line) in another 53 patients were taken place within a week. All the patients were followed for six months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  showed that: all of the 84 patients appeared an amelioration of CD4(+) t-lymphocyte count median from the baseline of 374.00 cell/µl to 406.50 cell/µl (P = 0.005). Those patients who had changed to second-line treatment program also showed an improvement of CD4(+) t-lymphocyte count median from the baseline of 267.00 cell/µl to 365.00 cell/µl (P = 0.015), while patients who were on the post first-line program with their CD4(+) t-lymphocyte count mean did not show significant change as compared to the baseline (P = 0.158) data. All the 84 patients showed a decrease of virus load median from the baseline of 3.61 log(10)copies/ml to 0.00 log(10) copies/ml (P = 0.000). Both of the two types of patients who had been changed to different programs, had a lower virus load median in the end of the follow-up period (for post first-line: P = 0.007; for second-line: P = 0.000). 13 patients kept their viral load more than 1000 copies/ml, including 5 cases bore more than three thymidine analogue mutations (TAMs) a the end of the follow-up program. Another 4 patients had no resistance mutations detected and no significant variation of viral load (less than 3 times) in the pre- or post-surveys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AIDS patients who had received long-term first-line antiretroviral treatment program, showed an amelioration six months after changing of the treatment program. Timely and effective testing on drug resistance as well as the strengthening of the follow-up program still seemed to be the link to those patients who were receiving first-line treatment that should not be ignored.
authors.affiliation: Henan Provincial Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Zhengzhou 450016, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wei-guo
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Xiu-juan
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Guo-qing
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Sui-an
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Chun-hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yao-wu
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000379:methods*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019562:Viral Load