Early antiretroviral therapy mortality in resource-limited settings: what can we do about it?

Highly active antiretroviral therapy has markedly reduced HIV morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. Expanded access to the 6.5 million individuals in immediate need of antiretroviral therapy using a public-health-systems approach is now promulgated as an international policy. An approximate 1.6 million individuals have already accessed antiretroviral therapy within programs in resource-poor settings.

Early studies from these treatment programs confirm similar virologic and immunologic responses to antiretroviral therapy as were observed earlier in industrialized settings. While medium-term reductions in morbidity and mortality also parallel those reported from Europe and North America, of particular concern is the observation that mortality immediately after starting antiretroviral therapy in resource-poor settings is several-fold higher than that of similar patients initiating antiretroviral therapy in industrialized settings.

This early mortality is multifactorial and is both a reflection of a very high preantiretroviral therapy mortality and a variety of factors such as comorbid conditions, late presentation, immune restoration disease, together with limited treatment and diagnostic options. Causes of mortality immediately prior to and during early antiretroviral therapy are reviewed and strategies to reduce mortality are identified and discussed.