title: Assessing adherence to the 2010 antiretroviral guidelines at the antiretroviral rollout clinic in 1 military hospital, South Africa: a retrospective, cross sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HIV research is a therapeutic area for which well-defined population-specific treatment and prophylaxis guidelines exist. However, there are limited objective, evidence-based data for assessing adherence to these guidelines.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To conduct a retrospective, cross sectional study of adult HIV-infected patients receiving treatment at the antiretroviral (ARV) roll-out clinic of the Infectious Diseases Clinic Pharmacy at 1 Military Hospital (1MH) over a period of 3 years to assess clinicians' adherence to the 2010 ARV guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pharmacy files from the pool of adult patients receiving treatment at the ARV roll-out clinic between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2012 were selected. Variables used to establish adherence were assessed through evaluation of pharmacy scripts and laboratory tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In accordance with the ARV guidelines, we found a switch in the first-line regimen from stavudine to tenofovir in the period following implementation. There was no difference in baseline blood tests conducted, suggesting that clinicians were recommending a standardised test panel. Notably, similar blood tests were routinely done during follow-up visits, despite no indication for doing so. While the number of blood tests was found to decrease over time, the type of blood tests requested for specific treatment regimens was not in accordance with ARV guidelines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We used an evidence-based approach to critically assess variations from the delineated ARV guidelines. Adherence to clinical guidelines at 1MH, while demonstrating improvement in patient outcomes, highlighted the need for increased vigilance in monitoring failure of prescribers to comply with ARV guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Clinic,1 Military Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa. k.sima@ymail.com.
authors.forename: Alicia Khululwa
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Khwitshana
authors.forename: Oppel B W
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Greeff
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hurrell
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000328:Adult; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D057915:Drug Substitution / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D006772:Hospitals, Military / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063065:Organophosphonates / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D018119:Stavudine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D000068698:Tenofovir
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents; D063065:Organophosphonates; D000068698:Tenofovir; D018119:Stavudine; D000225:Adenine