title: Pharmacy and self-report adherence measures to predict virological outcomes for patients on free antiretroviral therapy in Tamil Nadu, India.
abstract: Over 480,000 individuals receive free antiretroviral therapy (ART) in India yet data associating ART adherence with HIV viral load for populations exclusively receiving free ART are not available. Additionally estimates of adherence using pharmacy data on ART pick-up are not available for any population in India. After 12-months ART we found self-reported estimates of adherence were not associated with HIV viral load. Individuals with <100% adherence using pharmacy data predicted HIV viral load, and estimates combining pharmacy data and self-report were also predictive. Pharmacy adherence measures proved a feasible method to estimate adherence in India and appear more predictive of virological outcomes than self-report. Predictive adherence measures identified in this study warrant further investigation in populations receiving free ART in India to allow for identification of individuals at risk of virological failure and in need of adherence support.
authors: Infectious Diseases Unit, Alfred Hospital, Level 2 Burnet Tower, 85 Commercial Road, Melbourne 3004, Australia. ja.mcmahon@alfred.org.au
authors: James H
authors: JH
authors: McMahon
authors: Anand
authors: A
authors: Manoharan
authors: Christine A
authors: CA
authors: Wanke
authors: Shoba
authors: S
authors: Mammen
authors: Hepsibah
authors: H
authors: Jose
authors: Thabeetha
authors: T
authors: Malini
authors: Tony
authors: T
authors: Kadavanu
authors: Michael R
authors: MR
authors: Jordan
authors: Julian H
authors: JH
authors: Elliott
authors: Sharon R
authors: SR
authors: Lewin
authors: Dilip
authors: D
authors: Mathai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence / Q000523:psychology*; D010604:Pharmacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057566:Self Report; D019562:Viral Load / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents