Impact of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy on CD4 + T Cells and Viral Load of Children with AIDS: A Population-Based Study

Abstract

In this study, we sought to characterize the changes over time at the population level on CD4⁺ T cells and plasma viral load (VL) levels of HIV-1-infected children with or without AIDS. We carried out a retrospective study in 114 HIV-infected children during the calendar period that a highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART) protocol was used. The HAART protocol consisted of three drugs: nucleoside analogue HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and/or HIV protease inhibitors, and/or nonnucleoside analogue HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The mean of CD4⁺ T cells percentage and log₁₀ VL per calendar year were stratified by AIDS diagnostic. As new HAART strategies become available, an increase of CD4⁺ T cells and a decrease of VL were observed over time, in children with and without AIDS. In 2001, children with AIDS reached values of CD4⁺ T cells and VL similar to children without AIDS. In conclusion, our study shows that the generalized use of HAART has permitted improvement in immunological and virological status of HIV-infected children without AIDS, and more importantly in children with AIDS.