Virological Failure and its Predictors among Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infected Individuals on Second Line Antiretroviral Treatment in North-East Ethiopia, 2021.

Abstract

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) becomes a manageable chronic disease due to the presence of effective prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care accesses. Viral load cascade analyses are important to identify gaps in HIV/AIDS treatment and care for quality improvements OBJECTIVE: Time to Virological Failure and its Predictors among HIV Infected Individuals on Second Line Antiretroviral Treatment (SLART) in North-East Ethiopia, 2021 METHODS: Institution-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted on 474 HIV-infected individuals who were on SLART between September 2016 and April 2020. A universal sampling technique was used to recruit study participants. Data were entered by EpiData-3.3.1 and analyzed by STATA-14. Cox proportional hazard assumptions were checked to determine the effect of predictor variables on Virological Failure (VF). The study was conducted from February 01-April 30/ 2021 RESULT: The rate of Virological Failure (VF) in this study was 15.4% with an incidence rate of 4.93 per 100 person-years. As participants' age and duration of ART use increased by one year the hazards of VF was reduced by 2.9% (AHR: 0.971, 95%CI: 0.945, 0.995) and 10.6% (AHR: 0.894, 95%CI: 0.828, 0.963) respectively. The hazards of VF were twice higher among those who were on a non-protease inhibitor-based regimen. Individuals who had a history of Making Enhanced Adherence Counseling (EAC) sessions during SLART had three times more risk to develop VF (AHR:3.374, 95%CI:1.790, 6.361) CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The rate of VF among SLART users was high. Keeping SLART users on PI-based regimens may improve virological outcomes in HIV care and treatment. Making EAC sessions effective in promoting better ART adherence might reduce VF. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.