Benefits of implementing a monitoring program drug therapy to HIV-positive patients treated in the National Cardiopulmonary Institute

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the clinical implications of the pharmaceutical intervention,
product of a pharmacotherapeutic follow-up program, in the improvement of the adherence,
in the virological and immunological parameters and in the management of the negative results associated to the medication in HIV + patients that attend the HIV/AIDS Treatment Center at the Instituto Nacional Cardiopulmonary. Methods: A study with a quantitative approach, a correlational scope and quasi-experimental, prospective and randomized design was proposed. At the moment of recruiting volunteers, the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up basis was explained to the patients and the participation in the study was proposed. Thirty-one adult patients accepted. They all had HIV infection and were treated in the INCP's. To evaluate the clinical implications of this strategy, adherence levels, immunological and virologic parameters and the management of negative results associated with medication were compared with those patients in a control group, who did not receive the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up program. Results: When comparing the means of adherence scores between the intervention group and the control group, statistically significant differences were observed (p <0.05, 95% CI), which showed the influence of the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up program on adherence to therapy. In addition, the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up program identified negative results associated with the medication; 81% of these negative results were due to effectiveness, 17% of safety and 2% of necessity. The most frequent pharmaceutical intervention was patient education to increase adherence to treatment (80%). Conclusion: The results show that pharmacist intervention, through pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, improves adherence to antiretroviral treatment. The pharmacists were able to improve the adherence issue through their interventions.