Abstract:
: Beside the fact of poor adherence to antiretroviral drugs in
resource limited country, serious adverse effects of the drugs and treatment
failure complicate the whole management of antiretroviral therapy.
Consequently, treatment modification and discontinuation of therapy has
become a common phenomenon and hence limitation of treatment option
has turn out the major concern of the future HAART. The aim of the study
was to assess the factors responsible for modification of ARV regimen in
patients taking ARV drugs.
Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted between
January 2007 and December 2007 in Dessie regional referral hospital
Result: One hundred twenty two patients switch their first regimen in Dessie
regional referral hospital within the study period. The most frequent
prescribed first regimens before switch were AZT/3TC/EFV (36%),
AZT/3TC/NVP (27%), D4T/3TC/EFV (19%) and D4T/3TC/NVP (18%). Toxicity
(66%) followed by co-morbidity (14%) and planning pregnancy (11%) were
the most common reasons for modification of antiretroviral therapy .The
main toxicity was anemia (64 patients)and peripheral neuropathy (11
patients).
Conclusion: The proportions of patients who modify HAART in our resource
constrained setting present a challenge to the limited treatment options that
currently present.
