HIV viral suppression in TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database enrolled adults on antiretroviral therapy at the Social Health Clinic, the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology & STDs, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

BACKGROUND: The Social Health Clinic at the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology & STDs (SHC-NCHADS) in Phnom Penh is a major provider of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Cambodia. However, patient access to viral load monitoring is uncommon. We conducted a cross-sectional evaluation of HIV viral load in SHC-NCHADS patients on ART to determine the proportion experiencing virological failure and to identify factors associated with virological failure in this population.
METHODS: Patients who had been using their current first- or second-line ART regimen for ≥6 months were eligible. Virological failure was defined as a viral load >1,000 copies/ml, death, lost-to-follow-up or the absence of viral load testing despite presenting for care. Factors associated with virological failure were evaluated using logistic regression.
RESULTS: Overall, 463 patients (53.1% male, median age 42.1 years) were included in the investigation. At the time of current regimen initiation, median CD4+ T-cell count was 101 cells/mm3 and 89.0% of patients had experienced a WHO stage III/IV event. At the time of testing/last clinic visit, 28 (6.0%) patients met our definition of virological failure. Median viral load among those failing was 9,633 copies/ml. Shorter time on current ART regimen, low CD4+ T-cell count at the time of viral load testing/last clinic visit and a record of suboptimal adherence were the strongest predictors of virological failure.
CONCLUSIONS: This work demonstrates the high rate of viral suppression being achieved by the treatment programme at SHC-NCHADS and the need for future work to phase-in routine viral load monitoring in Cambodia.