Sociodemographic and pharmacoepidemiology profile of HIV infected children

Abstract

Antiretroviral therapy interferes with the replication of the HIV virus, stops the progression of infection, and  prevents early mortality in infected children. This  research investigated the sociodemographic profile  and parameters related to the antiretroviral treatment  of HIV positive children living in the state of Paraná.  This is a descriptive observational and analytical study, carried out with secondary data from the year 2020,  referring to children up to 12 years of age. The profile, prevalence, medicines in use, treatment abandonment, viral resistance, and viral suppression  were investigated. A total of 148 children were  identified, with a prevalence equal to 8.1/100,000 in  Paraná. All infants had begun their treatment, but  17,2% abandoned it. Among children who remained  on treatment, 9.8% did not achieve viral suppression  and their viral loads commonly exceeded 1000 viral  copies/mL. There was a predominance of drug  regimens probably prescribed after treatment failures. The results indicate that Paraná presents good results  in terms of rapid initiation of therapy and viral  suppression in children. However, there is a  considerable number of abandonments of therapy  and therapeutic failures, indicating the need to  strengthen the link between this population and  health services.