Abstract
Background
The Social Health Clinic at the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology & STDs (SHC-NCHADS) in Phnom Penh is a major provider of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Cambodia. However, patient access to viral load monitoring is uncommon. We conducted a cross-sectional evaluation of HIV viral load in SHC-NCHADS patients on ART to determine the proportion experiencing virological failure and to identify factors associated with virological failure in this population.
Methods
Patients who had been using their current first-or second-line ART regimen for ≥6 months were eligible. Virological failure was defined as a viral load >1,000 copies/ml, death, lost-to-follow-up or the absence of viral load testing despite presenting for care. Factors associated with virological failure were evaluated using logistic regression.
Results
Overall, 463 patients (53.1% male, median age 42.1 years) were included in the investigation. At the time of current regimen initiation, median CD4+ T-cell count was 101 cells/mm3 and 89.0% of patients had experienced a WHO stage III/IV event. At the time of testing/ last clinic visit, 28 (6.0%) patients met our definition of virological failure. Median viral load among those failing was 9,633 copies/ml. Shorter time on current ART regimen, low CD4+ T-cell count at the time of viral load testing/last clinic visit and a record of suboptimal adherence were the strongest predictors of virological failure.
Conclusions
This work demonstrates the high rate of viral suppression being achieved by the treatment programme at SHC-NCHADS and the need for future work to phase-in routine viral load monitoring in Cambodia.