Recently, the first drug in a new class of antiretroviral HIV drugs was approved, the fusion inhibitor enfuvirtide. We develop a mathematical model that describes the binding of the virus to T cells. We model the effect of enfuvirtide upon this process using impulsive differential equations. We find equilibria and determine stability in the case of no therapy and then when therapy is taken with...

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to evaluate the factors affecting medication adherence in geriatric diabetic patients treated at private clinics and tertiary hospitals. We compared the factors affecting medication adherence between these two patient groups. METHODS We included 108 diabetic patients older than 65 years treated at one tertiary hospital and 157 patients older than 65 years t...

BACKGROUND Proportion of days covered (PDC), a commonly used adherence metric, does not provide information about the longitudinal course of adherence to treatment over time. Group-based trajectory model (GBTM) is an alternative method that overcomes this limitation. METHODS The statistical principles of GBTM and PDC were applied to assess adherence during a 12-month follow-up in psoriasis pa...

OBJECTIVES To study medicine prescribing pattern for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on maintenance hemodialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS This prospective observational study was conducted in hemodialysis unit of a teaching hospital with adult CKD patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Patients' clinical profile, drug-use pattern, and medication-related problem data were captured in a stru...

Medication adherence is essential for the control of symptoms and progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of the study was to investigate medication adherence in outpatients in treatment for RA and SLE in a university hospital in Brazil. This was a quantitative, cross-sectional analytical study. A total of 92 patients (55 RA patients and 37 SLE p...

This study's hypothesis is that human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in the inner city (predominantly injection drug users and ethnic minorities) do not take highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) as prescribed and that nonadherence leads to virologic failure. A prospective, observational, 3-month study of adherence to HAART was undertaken at an inner-city clinic. There were 40 ...

BACKGROUND The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate patients' self-reported attitudes towards medication-related factors known to impair adherence and to assess their prevalence in ambulatory care as an essential prerequisite to improve patient adherence. METHODS We conducted a face-to-face interview with 110 primary care patients maintained on at least one drug. For each drug, the patient...

In India, interruptions to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) are due to adverse drug reactions. This study was aimed to assess the association between HAART adherence and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. This prospective study was conducted at a Medicine department in a South Indian tertiary care teaching hospital. HIV-positive patients we...

Adherence to antidepressants is crucial for optimal treatment outcomes when treating depressive disorders. However, poor adherence common among patients prescribed antidepressants. This targeted review summarizes the main factors associated with adherence, interventions that promote antidepressant pharmacological aspects related and formulates 10 clinical recommendations optimize adherence. Pat...

Introduction. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low-income countries is mainly assessed by self-reported adherence (S-RA) without drug level determination. Nonadherence is an important factor in the emergence of resistance to ART, presenting a need for drug level determination. Objective. We set out to establish the relationship between plasma stavudine levels and S-RA and validate S...