Factors associated with clinical alterations in patients diagnosed with HIV

Background

In recent years, the life expectancy of HIV patients has increased due to the introduction and development of antiretroviral therapies. However, although it has become a chronic pathology, the patients present a higher metabolic, hepatic, and renal risk and a greater aging than the general population.

Objective

To identify the main factors associated with clinical alterations in patients with HIV.

Methods

Observational, descriptive, retrospective, retrospective study in HIV patients attended by a pharmaceutical manager during 2023. A descriptive analysis was performed with measures of central tendency and summary, and a bivariate and multivariate analysis by means of logistic regression considering the presence of clinical alterations as the dependent variable.

Results

A total of 11126 HIV-positive patients were evaluated, mainly men (90 %), with a mean age of 40 years (SD 12.8) and a range between 19 and 95 years. A total of 48.5 % presented clinical alterations at risk levels that should be intervened in a timely manner to ensure the patient's adequate health status. Factors such as age, antiretroviral regimen, adherence, and drug persistence (p < 0.001) were found to be associated with the development of clinical alterations in patients with HIV.

Conclusions

Establishing a prioritization in the follow-up and management of HIV patients focused on patients older than 60 years, with treatment regimens that include protease inhibitors and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, in antiretroviral therapy initiation, non-adherent and/or with drug persistence problems, could generate more effective interventions focused on reducing clinical risks.