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Viral suppression in adolescents on antiretroviral treatment: review of the literature and critical appraisal of methodological challenges
Author(s) -
Ferrand Rashida A.,
Briggs Datonye,
Ferguson Jane,
Penazzato Martina,
Armstrong Alice,
MacPherson Peter,
Ross David A.,
Kranzer Katharina
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/tmi.12656
Subject(s) - medicine , dosing , critical appraisal , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , medline , antiretroviral therapy , viral load , antiretroviral treatment , family medicine , pediatrics , alternative medicine , pathology , political science , law
Abstract Objective Medication adherence is often suboptimal for adolescents with HIV , and establishing correct weight‐based antiretroviral therapy dosing is difficult, contributing to virological failure. This review aimed to determine the proportion of adolescents achieving virological suppression after initiating ART . Methods MEDLINE , EMBASE and Web of Science databases were searched. Studies published between January 2004 and September 2014 including ≥50 adolescents taking ART and reporting on the proportion of virological suppressed participants were included. Results From a total of 5316 potentially relevant citations, 20 studies were included. Only eight studies reported the proportion of adolescents that were virologically suppressed at a specified time point. The proportion of adolescents with virological suppression at 12 months ranged from 27 to 89%. Conclusion Adolescent achievement of HIV virological suppression was highly variable. Improved reporting of virological outcomes from a wider range of settings is required to support efforts to improve HIV care and treatment for adolescents.