Assesment of adherence to ARVT in HIV-positive patients with alchohol abuse

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze prevalence of alcohol abuse and influence of alcohol abuse on adherence to ARVT in HIV-positive patients. Research materials: we performed an anonymous survey of 165 HIV-positive patients hospitalized in Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital named after S.P. Botkin in 2017. Results: more than a half of participants has hazardous alcohol use or alcohol dependence. HIV-positive patients with alcohol abuse have high level of alcohol anosognosia. According to our survey among hospitalised patients, who didn't take ARVT, 57% wasn't ready to start antiretroviral therapy. Among patients, who were on ARVT at the time of evaluation, 92% had history of at least one episode of treatment interruption. Most common reason for interruption of antiretroviral therapy was drug's side effect (36,5%). Alcohol was mentioned as a cause of interruption by 7,7% of participants. Level of adherence was significantly different among patients with different alcohol consumption pattern. Adherence measured with different self-assessment tools was low among hospitalized HIV-positive patients. Conclusion: Hazardous drinking and alcohol dependence is very common among hospitalized HIV-positive patients. Suggested adherence self-assessment tools should help doctors to detect patients with insufficient level of adherence to ARVT. All rights reserved.