Evaluation of virologic monitoring frequencies on responses to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1 infected patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of virologic monitoring frequencies on treatment failure, adherence to therapy, and the emergence of drug resistance in HIV-1 infected patients. A quantitative, meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the virologic outcomes of infrequent and frequent Viral Load (VL) testing among patient on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Data was collected through a self-designed data collection form. Two comparison groups emerged being guided by the VL monitoring frequency. In group I, the health outcomes were compared for (≥3 VLs per year) versus (≤2 VLs per year) and (2 VLs per year) versus (≤1 VLs per year) for group II. Data were analysed using the Cochrane's statistical software, RevMan v5.3. The findings support (2 VLs per year) as the optimal VL monitoring strategy for stable and virologically suppressed patients and there is nothing to be gained by (≥3 VLs per year).