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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Comprehensive & Cost Effective Laboratory Monitoring of HIV/AIDS: an African Role Model
Published on: October 31, 2010
Gaps in guideline adherence: evaluating HLA-B*57:01 screening for abacavir sensitivity and the implementation of
Lisa V Kalman1, Yang Xia1, Ya-Lin A Huang2
1Division of Laboratory Systems, Office of Laboratory Systems and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
Objective:
Approximately 5-8 % of the population carries the HLA-B*57:01 allele, which increases the risk of severe hypersensitivity reactions to abacavir. Current guidelines and an FDA black box warning recommend HLA-B*57:01 screening for all patients before starting abacavir. We assessed the proportion of patients who undergo screening before initiating abacavir to evaluate adherence to guidelines.
Design:
A retrospective cohort study using national IQVIA® PharMetrics Plus reimbursement data.
Methods:
Data from the 2014-2022 IQVIA® PharMetrics Plus March 2023 dataset were analyzed. We identified patients aged ≥ 18 years who were newly prescribed abacavir, with ≥ 12 months of continuous enrollment before their first abacavir prescription. We examined the proportion of individuals who received HLA-B*57:01 screening any time before their initial abacavir prescription and conducted a multivariable logistic regression analysis on the receipt of HLA-B*57:01 screening adjusting for sex, age, year, and region.
Results:
We identified 7,391 patients newly prescribed abacavir between 2014 and 2022. Approximately 46 % received an HLA-B*57:01 screen before initiation of abacavir. Annual screening rates ranged from 44 % to 50 % between 2015 and 2018 and dropped to 17 % by 2022. Screening was less likely to occur after 2018, compared to earlier in the study period, and more likely for younger as well as male patients.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight broader challenges in HIV guideline adherence, emphasizing the need for ongoing evaluation and systematic interventions to improve implementation and patient safety.
