Correlation between self-reported adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and virologic outcome

The Patient Medication Adherence Questionnaire Version 1.0 (PMAQ-V1.0) is a patient-reported adherence instrument to assess medication-taking behaviors and identify barriers to adherence with antiretroviral therapy. To assess the correlation between adherence and virologic outcome, the PMAQ-V1.0 was administered to 194 antiretroviral-experienced adults with HIV infection enrolled in a 16-week evaluation of protease inhibitor-containing regimens featuring a lamivudine/zidovudine combination tablet. At baseline, plasma HIV-1 RNA levels were less than 10,000 copies/mL and CD4(+)-cell counts were equal to or greater than 300 x 10(6)/L; patients had been receiving a conventional regimen of lamivudine + zidovudine (separately) plus a protease inhibitor for at least 10 weeks immediately prior to the study. Forty-eight percent of patients who reported missing at least one dose of a nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) during the study had detectable plasma HIV-1 RNA, compared with 26% of patients who reported no missed doses (P = .002). Patients who missed at least one dose of an NRTI or protease inhibitor were 2.5 times more likely to have quantifiable HIV-1 RNA than those who reported no missed doses. Patients who reported fewer barriers and more motivators to adherence had better virologic outcomes (P = .001). Several dimensions of the PMAQ-V1.0 did not function as well as hypothesized. In this study, self-reported adherence derived from the PMAQ-V1.0 predicted virologic outcomes, but further refinement of the dimensions appears warranted.