Reports From the Field: HAART therapy cuts hospital days for HIV/AIDS patients
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) reduces the amount of time HIV-positive patients spend in the hospital, data from a nationwide network of HIV clinic show.
The report, by the HIV Research Network, was published in the May issue of JAIDS: The Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.1
The study includes data on 5,255 patients treated at nine HIV primary and specialty care clinics during 1999. Patients receiving HAART averaged 265 days per 100 patients compared with 320 days per 100 patients for those on a different type of drug therapy. Patients receiving HAART made more clinic visits for outpatient care.
Patients with lower CD4 cell counts, an indicator of immune system function, experienced more hospital days and more clinical visits. Other factors affecting the patterns of HIV care included race, with African American patients spending more time in the hospital than whites and making fewer clinic visits, and gender, with women making more clinic visits than men.
The monthly cost for patient averaged $423 for hospital care and $168 for outpatient care. This suggest that the cost of HIV care may have leveled off since the advent of HAART in the late 1990s, the researchers concluded, adding that more data will be needed to confirm the conclusion.
Reference
1. Lange, C et al. Impact of suppression of viral replication by highly active antiretroviral therapy on immune function and phenotype in chronic HIV-1 infection. J Aquir Immune Defic Syndr 2002: 1:30, 33-40.
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