| Autor: |
Alvis-Estrada JP; Juan Pablo Alvis-Estrada, Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala., Azmitia-Rugg A; Andrés Azmitia-Rugg, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Central America Region, Guatemala City, Guatemala., Sobalvarro-Stolz X; Ximena Soblavarro-Stolz, Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala., Romo-Dueñas D; Daniela Romo-Dueñas, Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala., Díaz F; Félix Diaz, Hospital Santo Tomás, Panama City, Panama., Martínez A; Alexander Martinez, Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios en Salud, Panama City, Panama., Morales RE; Rosa Elena Morales, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Central America Region, Guatemala City, Guatemala., Chang LR; Lissette Raquel Chang, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Central America Region, Panama City, Panama., Vega N; Natalia Vega, Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala., Araúz AB; Ana Belén Araúz, Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios en Salud, Panama City, Panama., Ávila-Montes G; Gustavo Ávila-Montes, Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala. |
| Abstrakt: |
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been adopted as a form of HIV treatment and prevention. This study assesses rapid ART initiation using clinical outcomes such as viral load (VL) and CD4+ T lymphocytes count. Over the course of one year, the progress of newly diagnosed people living with HIV who started ART early in a hospital in Panama City was followed. The evaluation of early initiation of ART in achieving viral suppression (VL <200 copies/ml) was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Additionally, the cost difference between early (first 7 days) and late initiation of ART was evaluated from the perspective of the service provider. In total, 209 people were followed up during the study; 85% were male, 70% started ART on same day from hospital arrival, 80% had suppressed viral load at 6 months, and the median count of CD4 increased from 285 (IQR: 166-429) to 509 (IQR: 373-696) over 12 months. Starting ART early led to a 42% increase for the provider in terms of staffing costs; however, the clients had the opportunity to decrease absenteeism in daily activities. The results reveal that early initiation of ART generates clinical and economic benefits for the person in treatment. |
