| RESEARCH ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2009 | Volume
: 41
| Issue : 5 | Page : 224-226 |
A prospective, observational cohort study to elicit adverse effects of antiretroviral agents in a remote resource-restricted tribal population of Chhattisgarh
Harminder Singh1, Navin Dulhani1, Pawan Tiwari1, Prabhakar Singh2, Tiku Sinha1
1 Department of Pharmacology, Medicine, Anatomy and PSM, Government Medical College, Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh - 494001, India
2 Department of Pharmacology, SS Medical College, Rewa, MP, India
Correspondence Address:
Harminder Singh
Department of Pharmacology, Medicine, Anatomy and PSM, Government Medical College, Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh - 494001
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0253-7613.58512
Objective : To assess the adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and its adherence in HIV-infected patients, in remote and tribal area with restricted resources.
Materials and Methods : This was a prospective, observational study carried out at Department of Medicine, Government Medical College, Jagdalpur. A set of questions were asked and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were recorded for every patient.
Results : 79 HIV positive patients were analyzed. Among them, 68 (86%) had at least one ADR. The mean ADR per patient was 1.64 (±1.09). The most common ADR in our study was peripheral neuropathy (20.83%), followed by skin rashes (15.83%). Twenty-one patients (26.58%) had severe (grade-3 and grade-4) ADRs. Female patients had more ADRs (45.71%) than males (11.36%); severe ADRs had a statistically significant positive correlation with sex and CD4 cell count of the patients.
Conclusion : In spite of high ADRs, HAART is the only answer to HIV/AIDS; thus, management requires a highly precise balance between benefits of durable HIV suppression and the risks of drug toxicity to achieve the therapeutic goals, with conventional drugs or with newer less toxic agents.
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