Abstract
Objectives Chinese medicine (CM) improves the symptoms of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and prolongs their survival. This real-world study aimed to evaluate the effects of CM on the survival of AIDS patients administered second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of the medical records of patients with AIDS who switched to second-line ART between January 2009 and December 2014. Patients were divided into ART and CM + ART groups. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to correct for biases between groups. Kaplan–Meier analysis and the log-rank test were used to compare survival rates, and Cox regression models were employed to identify factors significantly associated with survival. Results The study population (n = 4180) was comprised of the CM + ART group (n = 855) and the ART group (n = 3325). After 1 : 2 PSM, 855 patients in the CM + ART group and 1699 in the ART group were selected for analysis. Patients in the CM + ART group were followed for 4246.8 person-years, and the mortality rate was 2.12/100 person-years. Patients in the ART group were followed for 8381.2 person-years, and the mortality rate was 2.91/100 person-years. Cox regression model analysis revealed that patients in the CM + ART group survived significantly longer than those in the ART group (hazard ratio: 0.73 and 95% confidence interval: 0.57–0.93). Gender, age, symptoms, CD4 cell counts, and viral loads were independently associated with the survival of AIDS patients treated with second-line ART. Conclusions CM significantly improved the survival rate of AIDS patients treated with second-line ART.
Highlights
All of the study patients voluntarily chose to participate in the national CM–AIDS Treatment Trial Program (NCMATP) and provided signed informed consent. e patients in the NCMATP of Henan were given the patented Chinese drug yi ai kang free of charge and were required to record medical information related to their acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) condition on a monthly basis [19]
Patients were allocated into the Chinese medicine (CM) + antiretroviral therapy (ART) (n 855) and ART (n 3325) groups. e results before and after performing 1 : 2 Propensity score matching (PSM) of 855 patients in the CM + ART group and 1699 patients in the ART group are summarized in Table 1. ere were significant differences (P < 0.05) in age, route of infection, time on ART before second-line, CD4 cell counts between the CM + ART and ART groups before matching, and there were no significant differences after PSM
Except for CM, we show here that gender, age, symptoms, CD4 cell count, and viral load (VL) were significantly associated with the survival of patients with AIDS administered second-line ART
Summary
Chinese medicine (CM) improves the symptoms of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and prolongs their survival. is real-world study aimed to evaluate the effects of CM on the survival of AIDS patients administered second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). Is real-world study aimed to evaluate the effects of CM on the survival of AIDS patients administered second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). After 1 : 2 PSM, 855 patients in the CM + ART group and 1699 in the ART group were selected for analysis. Patients in the CM + ART group were followed for 4246.8 person-years, and the mortality rate was 2.12/100 person-years. Cox regression model analysis revealed that patients in the CM + ART group survived significantly longer than those in the ART group (hazard ratio: 0.73 and 95% confidence interval: 0.57–0.93). Age, symptoms, CD4 cell counts, and viral loads were independently associated with the survival of AIDS patients treated with second-line ART. CM significantly improved the survival rate of AIDS patients treated with second-line ART
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