title: Total daily pill burden in HIV-infected patients in the southern United States.
abstract: The need for antiretroviral therapy coupled with treatment of chronic co-morbidities places HIV-infected patients at risk for polypharmacy. However, few studies have described overall pill burden among HIV-infected patients. HIV-infected outpatients of the UNC Infectious Diseases Clinic were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Subjects were contacted prior to a scheduled appointment and asked to bring all their medications to the visit. Daily total pill burden and medication type were recorded. 151 subjects were recruited: 76% male, 58% African American, 97% receiving antiretrovirals (ARVs). Median age was 48 (IRQ: 42-54) years. The median number of medications per subject was 8 (IQR: 6-11), and the median individual daily pill burden was 8 pills (IQR: 5-15): 3 pills (range: 2-5) for ARVs and 6 (range: 3-12.5) pills for non-ARVs. Duration of ART (per 2 years increase) and more than 3 co-morbidities was significantly associated with high pill burden (over 10 pills per day) with adjusted OR of 2.09 (95% CI, 1.14-3.84) and 8.04 (95% CI, 2.30-28.15), respectively. As patients with HIV age, strategies to reduce pill burden and number of medications will become increasingly critical to maintaining adherence, preventing medication errors, and serious drug-drug interactions.
authors.affiliation: 1 Center for Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, UNC-Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Shuntai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corbett
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Napravnik
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eron
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Casciere
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boulton
authors.forename: Brittany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Loy
authors.forename: Shayna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ramsdell
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wohl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D019338:Polypharmacy; D019562:Viral Load; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents