The long-term effectiveness of generic adult fixed-dose combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected Ugandan children.

Background: Access to pediatric antiretroviral formulations is increasing in resource-limited countries, however adult FDCs are still commonly used by antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs.

Objective: To describe long-term effectiveness of using adult FDC of d4T+3TC+NVP (Triomune) in children for HIV treatment.

Methods: Clinical, immunologic, and virologic outcomes of HIV-infected ART-naïve children aged six months to 12 years, were evaluated up to 96 weeks post-ART initiation.

Results: From March 2004 to June 2006, 104 children were followed with a median age of 5.4 years, median CD4 cell percent and HIV-1 RNA were 11.0% (IQR 6.7-13.9) and 348,846copies/mL (IQR 160,941-681,313) respectively at baseline. Using Kaplan-Meir estimates, 75% of children had undetectable viral loads (<400copies/mL) at 96 weeks of ART. Children with a baseline CD4 cell percent >15% were 3 times more likely to achieve viral load <400copies/mL than those with baseline CD4 cell percent <5% after adjusting for baseline age {aHR = 3.03 (1.10-8.32), p=0.03}; no difference was found among those with CD4 cell percent >5-14.9% and <5%.

Conclusion: Treatment with generic adult FDC for HIV-infected Ugandan children led to sustained clinical, immunologic and virologic response during 96 weeks of ART. Early initiation of ART is key to achieving virological success.