A Real-World Evidence-Based Management of HIV by Differential Duration HAART Treatment and its Association with Incidence of Oral Lesions

Abstract

Background: The efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) therapy can be estimated by immunological response and the incidence of opportunistic infections. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of different durations of HAART in terms of immunological response markers (CD4 count and CD4/CD8 ratio) along with disease progression markers (incidence of oral lesions) in Chinese patients with HIV. Methods: This single-center, retrospective, real-world study included patients with HIV, grouped into treatment group and treatment-naïve group of which the former was further divided into (6, 12, and 18 months) based on the treatment duration. The CD4 and CD8 cell counts were analyzed by the FACSCalibur flow cytometry. Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to determine the outcome of different duration of HAART. Oral examination was carried out according to the WHO type IV examination Results: In 246 patients with HIV, CD4 counts increased significantly post-HAART compared with pre-HAART in all three treatment groups (P<.001), while CD8 count decreased significantly (P<.05) in all three treated group. A significant association of HAART with CD4/CD8 ratio was observed (P<.001). A significant increase in CD4 count was observed between 12-month and 18-month treatment group (P<.05). The occurrence of oral lesions reduced significantly in the treatment group. Conclusion: We observed a better response of HAART regimen with 18 months of duration than 12-months and 6-months therapies and reduction in oral lesions.