Adverse drug reaction in HIV-infected people treated with HAART in Maringá, Southern Brazil

Purpose: To assess the knowledge of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among HIV-infected patients on prolonged treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) at a public health facility in Maringá, Southern Brazil.
Methods: A retrospective and prospective analysis of laboratory results and clinical epidemiological characteristics was conducted among 220 HIV-infected patients treated with HAART between January 2010 and December 2013, at a public health care and treatment center in Maringá, Southern Brazil. The immunological and virological profiles of participants were evaluated.
Results: The mean age of antiretroviral therapy (ART) participants was 44.3 ± 10.8 years and there was no substantial age difference between males and females. The mean of the first and last CD4+ T count were 550 ± 309 cells/μL and 642 ± 372 cells/μL, respectively. Similarly, the first and last mean viral load were 14,476 ± 58,067 copies/mL and 20,828 ± 106,028 copies/mL, respectively. The therapeutic regimen was either two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and one protease inhibitor (PI) in 102 (46.4 %) patients, or two NRTIs and one non-nucleoside reverse inhibitor (NNRTI) in 79 (35.9 %). Gastrointestinal disorders (25.9 %), hypertension (25.4 %), and neuropsychiatric symptoms (18.2 %) were the most common clinical ADRs. The most common laboratory-based ADRs were anemia (48.8 %), hypertriglyceridemia (47.3 %), hypercholesterolemia (36.1 %) and hyperglycemia (22.6 %).
Conclusion: The results demonstrate a high incidence of ADRs in HIV-patients treated with HAART, which should be monitored closely during follow-up therapy.

Keywords
HIV, AIDS, Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), Adverse drug reaction