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Initial Regimen (initial + regimen)

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Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Insights into reasons for discontinuation according to year of starting first regimen of highly active antiretroviral therapy in a cohort of antiretroviral-naïve patients

HIV MEDICINE, Issue 2 2010
P Cicconi
Objectives The aim of the study was to determine whether the incidence of first-line treatment discontinuations and their causes changed according to the time of starting highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in an Italian cohort. Methods We included in the study patients from the Italian COhort Naïve Antiretrovirals (ICoNA) who initiated HAART when naïve to antiretroviral therapy (ART). The endpoints were discontinuation within the first year of ,1 drug in the first HAART regimen for any reason, intolerance/toxicity, poor adherence, immunovirological/clinical failure and simplification. We investigated whether the time of starting HAART (stratified as ,early', 1997,1999; ,intermediate', 2000,2002; ,recent', 2003,2007) was associated with the probability of reaching the endpoints by a survival analysis. Results Overall, the 1-year probability of discontinuation of ,1 drug in the first regimen was 36.1%. The main causes of discontinuation were intolerance/toxicity (696 of 1189 patients; 58.5%) and poor adherence (285 of 1189 patients; 24%). The hazards for all-reason change were comparable according to calendar period [2000,2002, adjusted relative hazard (ARH) 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69,0.98; 2003,2007, ARH 0.94, 95% CI 0.76,1.16, vs. 1997,1999; global P -value=0.08]. Patients who started HAART during the ,recent' period were less likely to change their initial regimen because of intolerance/toxicity (ARH 0.67, 95% CI 0.51,0.89 vs. ,early' period). Patients who started in the ,intermediate' and ,recent' periods had a higher risk of discontinuation because of simplification (ARH 15.26, 95% CI 3.21,72.45, and ARH 37.97, 95% CI 7.56,190.64, vs. ,early' period, respectively). Conclusions It seems important to evaluate reason-specific trends in the incidence of discontinuation in order to better understand the determinants of changes over time. The incidence of discontinuation because of intolerance/toxicity has declined over time while simplification strategies have become more frequent in recent years. Intolerance/toxicity remains the major cause of drug discontinuation. [source]

Superior virological response to boosted protease inhibitor-based highly active antiretroviral therapy in an observational treatment programme

HIV MEDICINE, Issue 2 2007
E Wood
Background The use of boosted protease inhibitor (PI)-based antiretroviral therapy has become increasingly recommended in international HIV treatment consensus guidelines based on the results of randomized clinical trials. However, the impact of this new treatment strategy has not yet been evaluated in community-treated cohorts. Methods We evaluated baseline characteristics and plasma HIV RNA responses to unboosted and boosted PI-based highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among antiretroviral-naïve HIV-infected patients in British Columbia, Canada who initiated HAART between August 1997 and September 2003 and who were followed until September 2004. We evaluated time to HIV-1 RNA suppression (<500 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL) and HIV-1 RNA rebound (,500 copies/mL), while stratifying patients into those that received boosted and unboosted PI-based HAART as the initial regimen, using Kaplan,Meier methods and Cox proportional hazards regression. Results During the study period, 682 patients initiated therapy with unboosted PI and 320 individuals initiated HAART with a boosted PI. Those who initiated therapy with a boosted PI were more likely to have a CD4 cell count <200 cells/,L and to have a plasma HIV RNA>100 000 copies/mL, and to have AIDS at baseline (all P<0.001). However, when we examined virological response rates, those who initiated HAART with a boosted PI achieved more rapid virological suppression [relative hazard 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06,1.51, P=0.010]. Conclusions Patients prescribed boosted PIs achieved superior virological response rates despite baseline factors that have been associated with inferior virological responses to HAART. Despite the inherent limitations of observational studies which require this study be interpreted with caution, these findings support the use of boosted PIs for initial HAART therapy. [source]

Multilevel factors affecting tuberculosis diagnosis and initial treatment

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 3 2008
Wilawan Thongraung BSc
Abstract Objectives, The study aims to assess provider adherence to national tuberculosis programme guidelines on diagnosis, initial regimens and dosages, and to examine independent effects of factors at patient, staff and hospital levels influencing adherence. Methods, A review of 383 medical records of new tuberculosis (TB) patients and interviews with related staff were carried out. The study was conducted in 16 public hospitals of seven provinces of southern Thailand. The outcome variables were provider adherence to the guidelines on diagnostic procedure, initial regimen and dosage. Independent variables consisted of patient, staff and hospital factors. Multilevel logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with adherence. Results, The proportions of adherence to the diagnostic procedure, initial regimen and initial dosage prescribed were 70.0%, 100.0% and 57.1%, respectively. Most of diagnosis non-adherence was anti-TB drugs being prescribed for smear-negative patients without prior antibiotic trial (12.5%). The anti-TB drug with the highest percentages of patients receiving non-adhered dosage was ethambutol (33.6%). In contrast to single-level analysis, which showed significant influence of up to five factors, multilevel analysis confirmed only strong effect of male patients receiving better adhered diagnosis and of non-doctors and TB clinics providing better dosage adherence. Conclusions, Adherence to TB diagnostic procedures was not good, and adherence to initial dosage, especially for ethambutol, was poor. TB clinics, the key factor of adherence, should be expanded. Female patients should be reviewed more carefully because they tend to receive poorer diagnosis adherence. [source]

Intratympanic Dexamethasone Injection for Refractory Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 5 2006
Yun-Hoon Choung DDS
Abstract Objective: This case-control study aimed to analyze the effect of intratympanic dexamethasone injection (ITDI) as a treatment option for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) who were refractory to classic oral steroid treatment. Methods: Sixty-six patients with SSNHL, who were refractory to a course of oral steroid therapy, were included in this study. We prospectively treated consecutive 33 patients (34 ears) with ITDI from August 2002 to January 2004. We then retrospectively collected data from age- and sex-matched previous patients who did not take any more treatments after the initial regimen between March 2000 and July 2002. ITDI was performed in the supine position on four separate occasions over the course of 2 weeks. Hearing was assessed immediately before every injection and at 1 week after therapy. Hearing improvement was defined as more than 10 dB in pure-tone average (PTA). Results: Hearing improvement was observed in 13 (39.4%) of 33 patients who underwent ITDI and in two (6.1%) of 33 patients in the control group. Five of 13 represented hearing improvement over than 20 dB in PTA, and 11 of 20 patients, who showed no improvement in PTA by ITDI, showed improvement over 10 dB in some frequencies. There were no definite prognostic factors between the patients who responded to ITDI and those who did not. Conclusion: ITDI may be a simple and effective therapy for patients with refractory SSNHL. [source]