Effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in global fund areas of Shandong province:2004-2012

Objective To analyze the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in Shandong province from 2004 through 2012.Methods Base-line and follow-up information on patients receiving antiretroviral therapy were collected in eight global fund areas of Shandong province.CD4⁺T cell count and virus load were used as the evaluation indexes for immunologic and virologic effectiveness,respectively.Results A total of 293 human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)infected cases,mainly through plasma donnation(53.58%) or sexual transmission(40.96%),were observed.Among the cases,the fatality rate decreased from 7.04 per 100 person-year in 2004 to 0.30 per 100 person-year in 2012,while the CD4⁺T cell count increased significantly during treatment period(P<0.01)and virus load was greatly inhibited.Conclusion Antiretroviral therapy reduces fatality rate,improves immunologic status,and inhibits virus replication effectively in HIV infected patients.