Evaluation of viral suppression and medication-related burden among HIV-infected adults in a secondary care facility.

Background: People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) are prone to other health issues that may result from the disease or antiretroviral medicines. These persons experience other psychosocial aspects of the illness, which may negatively affect their quality of life and overall treatment outcomes. This study assessed the medication-related burden and virological response of adult PLHIV. Method: This cross-sectional study involved 417 HIV-positive adults who had been on combined antiretroviral therapy for at least a year at the State Specialist Hospital Gombe. Nigeria. Patient medication experience was measured using the Living with Medication Questionnaire version-3 (LMQ-3). Virological suppression was assessed at viral loads <1000 copies/ml and 20 copies/ml for undetectable HIV RNA levels. The LMQ-3 scores were compared with the participants' characteristics using independent Results: Of the 417 PLHIV included in this study, 271 (65%) were classified as WHO Stage 1 ART initiation, 93.8% achieved viral suppression with 291 (69.5%) whom were females. The majority of patients 382 (91.6%) were on a dolutegravir-based regimen, had no tuberculosis diagnosis at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation (82.5%) and were 6-10 years on ART (46.3%). Only 67.6% of the population had a moderate medication-related burden. Female sex ( Conclusion: The findings from this study revealed that majority of the patients achieved viral suppression with moderate degree of medication-related burden. Targeted interventions should be directed toward younger patients, females and patients with unsuppressed viral loads.