SIDATRAT: informatics to improve HIV/AIDS care

AIDS is a major cause of death in the Caribbean, a region with a high prevalence of HIV. However, prevalence in Cuba's population aged 15 to 49 years, despite a slight increase in recent years, is considered extremely low (0.1%). At the close of 2010, 5692 Cuban patients were receiving antiretroviral therapy. SIDATRAT, an informatics system, was developed at the Pedro Kourí Tropical Medicine Institute in Havana to ensure proper monitoring and followup of drug administration. Functioning on a web platform utilizing an Apache server, PHP and MySQL, it records patients' general information, CD4 counts, viral load and data from other laboratory tests, as well as endoscopic and imaging studies. It also compiles information on their AIDS classification, opportunistic infections, HIV subtype and resistance studies, followup consultations, drug regimen, adverse reactions to medications, changes in drug combinations, and survival; and tracks total number of individuals under treatment. SIDATRAT follows the client-server philosophy and enables access by authorized users throughout Cuba via the health informatics network. SIDATRAT has been found effective in supporting quality care for persons living with HIV/AIDS and universal access to antiretroviral therapy, compiling most of the information needed for decisionmaking on patient health and therapies. SIDATRAT has been offered to the UNDP office in Havana for sharing with other developing countries that may wish to adapt or implement it.