Background and objective:

The main objective of this work is to determine the rate of virologic failure (VF) intreatment-naïve patients, 24 and 48 weeks after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in real life in a tertiary hospital.

Patients and Methods:

A retrospective study of 3 years duration. Naïve HIV adult patients who started ART between 2012 and 2014 were selected. Demographics (age, sex and nationality), clinical (transmission mechanism and clinical stage), laboratory (viral load (VL), baseline CD4 and existence of prior mutations test) and TAR chosen were recorded. VL and CD4, adherence, monitoring, medication-related problems, changes and reasons for changing ART were registered at 24 and 48 weeks.

Results:

Of 253 patients selected, analytical data was available for 244 and 226 at 24 and 48 weeks, respectively. After 24 weeks, VL was <50 copies/ml in 142 (58.23%) patients and <200 copies/ml in 204 (83.6%). After 48 weeks, the same values were 198 (88.4%) and 217 (96.0%), respectively. Baseline VL above 100,000 copies/ml and poor adhesion to treatment were associated with an increased risk of VF. Thirty per cent of patients switched ART during the first year, mainly because of side effects (31.6%) and simplification of treatment (23.7%).

Conclusions:

VL became undetectable or under 200 copies/ml in a high percentage of patients starting ART within the first year of treatment. Despite the increasingeffectiveness and tolerability of available drugs, side effects remain as the major reason for changing ART.

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