Background Antiretroviral efficacy is closely related to the degree of adherence

Purpose To determine the adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected patients with once-daily dosing regimens, depending on the number of tablets.

Materials and Methods Two-month observational study (May–June 2010 of selected patients on HAART who collected their medicines in the pharmacy with the following inclusion criteria: adult patients on HAART for more than a year, who were not included in any clinical trials, mentally competent and who obtained the medicines exclusively in our LEU.

The SMAQ survey was used to assess adherence. Adherence data, along with the number of tablets and demographic characteristics of the patients were tabulated and analysed using Excel.

Results 223 patients were included in the study. 39.5% (n = 88) had once-daily regimens. 72 were men and 16 women. The mean age was 44.3 years and 7.35 years on HAART. The mean adherence was 67.05%.

The study population was divided into two groups: one tablet (OT) (n = 49) and two or more tablets (MT) (n = 39). Baseline characteristics were homogeneous in the two groups. However adherence rates were 71.42% vs. 61.54% respectively (p = 0.3268).

Conclusions Simple dosing regimens facilitate adherence to HAART. In our study we found that OT patients were more adherent that MT patients. Although the difference in adherence was not statistically significant, we believe that this difference may have high clinical impact on controlling the disease.

No conflict of interest.