Adherence to antiretroviral therapy and acceptability of planned treatment interruptions in HIV-infected children

• Main Authors: Linda Harrison, Jintanat Ananworanich, Djamel Hamadache, Alexandra Compagnucci, Martina Penazzato, Torsak Bunupuradah, Antonio Mazza, Jose Tomas Ramos, Jacquie Flynn, Osvalda Rampon, Maria Jose Mellado Pena, Daniel Floret, Magdalena Marczynska, Ana Puga, Silvia Forcat, Yoann Riault, Marc Lallemant, Hannah Castro, Diana M. Gibb, Carlo Giaquinto
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Medicine; Psychology
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84872684621&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/52954
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

There have been no paediatric randomised trials describing the effect of planned treatment interruptions (PTIs) of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on adherence, or evaluating acceptability of such a strategy. In PENTA 11, HIV-infected children were randomised to CD4-guided PTIs (n = 53) or continuous therapy (CT, n = 56). Carers, and children if appropriate, completed questionnaires on adherence to ART and acceptability of PTIs. There was no difference in reported adherence on ART between CT and PTI groups; non-adherence (reporting missed doses over the last 3 days or marking <100 % adherence since the last clinical visit on a visual analogue scale) was 18 % (20/111) and 14 % (12/83) on carer questionnaires in the CT and PTI groups respectively (odds ratios, OR (95 % CI) = 1.04 (0.20, 5.41), χ2(1) = 0.003, p = 0.96). Carers in Europe/USA reported non-adherence more often (31/121, 26 %) than in Thailand (1/73, 1 %; OR (95 % CI) = 54.65 (3.68, 810.55), χ2(1) = 8.45, p = 0.004). The majority of families indicated they were happy to have further PTIs (carer: 23/36, 64 %; children: 8/13, 62 %), however many reported more clinic visits during PTI were a problem (carer: 15/36, 42 %; children: 6/12, 50 %). © 2012 The Author(s).