RESUMO
Adherence is integral to improving and maintaining the health and quality of life of people living with HIV. Two-hundred HIV-positive adults recruited from teaching hospitals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Rio de Janeiro City were assessed on socio-demographic factors, adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and psychosocial factors hypothesized to be associated with ART. Predictors of non-adherence were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Self-reported medication adherence was high (82% had adherence >90%). Non-adherence was associated with personal factors (i.e. sexual orientation, self-efficacy), physical factors (i.e. loss of appetite) and interpersonal factors (i.e. doctor-patient relationship). Adherence in Brazil is as good, if not better, than that seen in the US and western Europe, which is noteworthy since the sample was derived predominantly from public healthcare settings. It is possible that the connection to NGOs in Rio de Janeiro City played a helpful role in achieving high levels of adherence in this sample of people living with HIV and AIDS. Recommendations, based on study findings, include enhancing and sustaining supportive services for NGOs, promoting patient self-efficacy and behavioral skills for adherence, increasing social network support and having healthcare providers directly address patients' medication beliefs, attitudes and experience with side effects.
Assuntos
Antirretrovirais/uso terapêutico , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , Cooperação do Paciente , Adulto , Terapia Antirretroviral de Alta Atividade , Brasil/epidemiologia , Feminino , Infecções por HIV/mortalidade , HIV-1 , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Relações Médico-PacienteRESUMO
The DNA and nuclear antigens of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) have been detected in specimens of tissue of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis from patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. To determine whether there is serologic evidence of an active EBV infection in these disorders, we conducted a case-control study. The case patients were 10 children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and EBV genome-positive pneumonitis or lymphoma. We randomly selected one or, if available, two matched control patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection for each index patient and compared their EBV serologic profiles with those of the index case patient at the time of the biopsy. Ten case patients and 13 matched control patients were enrolled. All 10 case patients (100%) compared with 2 (15%) of 13 matched control patients had serologic evidence of either a primary or a reactivated EBV infection at the time the index patient had a biopsy performed (p less than 0.001). Therefore we found serologic and virologic evidence that EBV is etiologically related to EBV-associated lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.