Factors affecting timing of antiretroviral treatment initiation based on monitoring CD4 counts.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To evaluate factors affecting antiretroviral therapy (ART) start time when triggered by a CD4 count <350 cells/μL while monitoring counts over time. Measurement frequency, requirement for confirmatory counts, and precision and accuracy of CD4 enumeration technology were considered.

Methods

Using a model of CD4 count trajectories among seroconverters in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, sequences of counts were simulated for a large hypothetical population monitored for 5 years from seroconversion. Time of first count <350 cells/μL was defined as ART start time. The simulation was adapted to evaluate the effect of the above factors on these times. ART initiation was considered "very late" among patients whose underlying trajectory declined less than 200 cells/μL du

SUBMITTER: Noubary F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3649850 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature