Substitutions to initial anteretroviral therapy due to toxicity or contraindication among children in South Africa

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) South Africa 2010 Country Progress report, 81% of South African children in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were receiving treatment which is a 20% increment in treatment access from 2008 to 2009. With increase in access to treatment, understanding drug tolerability, safety and durability is important especially among children whose drug options are limited due to few drugs being available in suitable formulations and the need for refrigeration of some drugs. While there are many paediatric studies on ART durability in the developed world, data from the developing world are limited. There is therefore a need to understand the drug-specific probability of and reasons for drug stops or changes among children initiated on ART in South Africa. This knowledge could help in optimisation of use of firstline ART in order to maximise time on first-line therapy and thereby maintain simplicity of programs (program-level benefit) and save alternative drugs for situations of toxicity and virological failure (individual benefit).

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Public Health and Family Medicine

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Kampiire, Leatitia

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Davies, Mary-Ann

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11003

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/11003