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The Importance of Adherence in HIV

Unless it is a medical emergency, the decision to begin antiretroviral treatment should not come lightly. It is extremely important that an individual with HIV takes these medicines properly without missing a dose in order for the medications to be effective at reducing HIV viral loads.

  1. Viral Resistance

    • When people begin an antiretroviral treatment regimen and start having problems with adherence, it gives the particular strain of HIV present in their blood the chance to mutate. These mutations can result in viral resistance, meaning that the treatments being used are no longer effective at killing the strain of HIV that the individual is infected with.

    Treatment Failure

    • After an HIV strain has been given enough opportunities to mutate and multiply, the medications that the individual is taking stop working completely. This is referred to as treatment failure, and they will have to start a new line of treatment as soon as possible with other medications.

    Barriers to Adherence

    • Several things can cause an individual to not adhere to his treatment regimen. The most common of these barriers to adherence include undesirable side effects to the medications such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as life's responsibilities causing them to take their medications at different times or to skip doses.

    Schedule and Routine

    • It is important to maintain a strict treatment schedule to prevent viral resistance. Alarms can be used to remind individuals of pill times, and multiday pill boxes can keep medications and doses organized. Scheduling meals or snacks before treatment times can reduce or eliminate nausea that might otherwise interfere with adherence.

    Advances in Technology

    • Medical science has developed tools to aid with adherence, such as a breath monitor that can test to see how well an individual's HIV infection is responding to antiretroviral treatments. This can give an early warning to possible adherence problems or indicate when a new wave of treatment is necessary.

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