A comparison of the effectiveness of protease inhibitor-based highly active anti-retroviral treatment regiments in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

Few studies have assessed the optimum second line highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) regimen in patients who had failed on the first-line HAART in resource-limited settings. This study aimed to compare the Protease inhibitor (PI)-based second line HAART regimens used in one clinic in Trinidad by comparing immunological, virological and clinical outcomes of patients on the different second line HAART regimens. The records of 35 treatment-experienced patients, over 21years of age and on PI-based regimens for at least six months, were analysed using SPSS version 20. The regimen containing TDF/FTC/AZT/LPV/r proved to produce superior outcomes compared to the other second line regimens. Due the small number of usable patients’ records, the findings cannot be generalised but indicate directions for future studies attempting to compare the treatment outcomes of different second line HAART regimens