HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (HAART) REGIMENS PRESCRIBED IN STUDY SUBJECTS ATTENDING GOVERNMENT GENERAL HOSPITAL, VIJAYAWADA, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA

The object of the present study was to assess the Highly Active Antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens prescribed in study subjects attending Government General Hospital, Vijayawada, A.P, India, during April, 2012 to April, 2015. It was the cross-sectional record-based study. Out of 95 HIV infected children recruited for the study, 24 subjects were in pre-HAART era without taking antiretroviral drugs because they have shown CD4 count more than 350 cells/cmm, 60 subjects were in HAART era taking antiretroviral drugs because they have CD4 counts less than 350 cells/cmm and 11 subjects were mortal cases. Out of 60 subjects in HAART era, 29 (4.75%) subjects were on first-line treatment i.e., Stavudine + Lamivudine + Navirapine (SLN) regimen, 19 (32.0%) subjects were on Stavudine + Lamivudine + Efavirenz (SLE) regimen, 7 (12.0%) subjects were on Zidovudine + Lamivudine + Efavirenz (ZLE) regimen, 4 (6.5%) subjects were on Zidovudine + Lamivudine + Navirapine (ZLN) regimen, and only one subject (2.0%) was on Tenofovir containing regimen i.e., Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate + Emitricitabine + Efavirenz (TTE) second-line HAART regimen due to severe drug reaction to Zidovudine, Stavudine and Lamivudine containing regimens. 38.0% of male and 23.0% female subjects on SLE regimen were with mean age of 15.1 years, 9.0% of male and 15.0% of female subjects on ZLE regimen were with mean age of 15.5 years, 44.0% of male and 54.0% of female subjects on SLN regimen were with mean age of 15.2 years, 9.0% of male and 4.0% of female subjects on ZLN regimen with mean age of 17.5 years, and one (4%) female subject on TEE regimen with the age of 20 years. On the whole, the majority of the subjects under HAART shown rise in CD4 counts during the course of treatment indicating that regular therapy to HIV infected subjects prolong their life span.