Authors' Reply to Cotton and Nicol's Comment on 'Adverse Drug Reactions and Clinical Outcomes in Patients Initiated on Antiretroviral Therapy: A Prospective Cohort Study from Ethiopia'
| Autor: | Peter Gee, Mekides A. Bimirew, Desalew M. Kassie, Leanne Chalmers, Woldesellassie M. Bezabhe, Luke Bereznicki, Gregory M. Peterson |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
Pharmacology
Male medicine.medical_specialty Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions business.industry Alternative medicine Psychological intervention Toxicology Antiretroviral therapy law.invention Randomized controlled trial Anti-Retroviral Agents law Health care medicine Humans Pharmacology (medical) In patient Female Drug reaction business Prospective cohort study Intensive care medicine |
| Zdroj: | Drug safety. 38(10) |
| ISSN: | 1179-1942 |
| Popis: | We thank Drs. Cotton and Nicol for their letter [1]. They raise an important issue about maximizing the benefit and prolonging the efficacy of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in sub-Saharan Africa during this time of rapid scaling-up to improve access to ART in the region [2]. We agree that improving adherence to first-line ART regimens is the best option to realize better treatment outcomes with the lowest cost in this resource-limited setting. The second important point raised in their letter is that serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are prevalent and are associated with mortality and morbidity in patients taking ART [3, 4]. Severe ADRs that were more prevalent within the first 3 months were a barrier to achieving optimal adherence [4], which is critically important for successful virological suppression in patients initiated on ART [5]. We share the call of Drs Cotton and Nicol for rapid implementation of interventions to actively identify ADRs in patients who are initiated on ART [1]. However, it may be worth conducting a multicentre randomised controlled trial in resource-limited settings to test the effectiveness of various interventions to improve the detection and management of severe ART ADRs and thus improve treatment outcomes. Evidence-based strategies would assist the healthcare teams in ART clinics to reduce the influence of severe ADRs while the ART rollout expands in sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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