Adherence to HAART regimens

The problem of inadequate adherence to prescribed highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) drug regimens to treat HIV infection and AIDS is ubiquitous. Adherence can be inadequate despite both provider and patient understanding of the consequences of nonadherence. Successful long-term treatment of HIV/AIDS requires at least 95% adherence to HAART in order to prevent emergence of drug-resistant HIV variants that lead to regimen failure and limit options for future therapy. Despite the prevalence of inadequate adherence, many patients succeed, and HAART has transformed HIV infection into a chronic illness increasingly managed in primary care. The barriers to adherence observed in HIV treatment resemble barriers to the successful treatment of other chronic diseases: regimen complexity, side effects resulting in poor tolerability, patient lifestyle factors, and patient-provider relationships. Treatment of HIV infection has shown that patient-provider collaboration can result in the selection of a lifestyle-tailored regimen characterized by convenient dosing, low pill burden, and tolerable side effects that enhances adherence, effectiveness, and the patient's willingness to remain on anti-HIV therapy long term. This review focuses on the current understanding of adherence reporting, improvement of adherence, and, hence, improvement of treatment outcomes in HIV infection and AIDS.