Prevalence of Substance Abuse Among Anti-retroviral Treatment Naive Patients Positive for HIV Antibodies

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Study of substance abuse among treatment naïve HIV patients Background: Individuals use substance for mood-alerting purposes. Substance can be alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, cocaine and methamphetamine. Substance addiction/abuse is excessive use of a drug that is detrimental to self and society . Thes...

Study of substance abuse among treatment naïve HIV patients Background: Individuals use substance for mood-alerting purposes. Substance can be alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, cocaine and methamphetamine. Substance addiction/abuse is excessive use of a drug that is detrimental to self and society . These drugs are linked to risky sex behavior and they are related to unsafe sex and thereby chances are more to contracting HIV infection in two ways. Firstly, people inject drugs and shares needle; secondly, drugs impair judgment that leads to unprotected sex with infected partner. The relationship between drug use and HIV disease progression may be mediated by several factors, including immunologic and virologic conditions affecting host susceptibility, underlying comorbidities among drug users, use of antiretroviral therapy, and viral strain, as well as pharmacodynamic aspects of drug use, such as the pattern and type of drug administration and the route of administration. Laboratory based studies show exacerbation of HIV progression among patient with drug addiction. Aim and objectives: Study of prevalence of substance abuse among anti-retroviral treatment naïve patients positive for HIV antibodies. To compare opportunistic infections prevalent in patients positive for HIV antibodies with substance addiction and without substance addiction. To compare CD4+ T cell counts at the first visit to ART entre and after six months in patients positive for HIV antibodies with substance addiction and without substance addiction. Methods- Inclusion criteria- 1. Anti-retroviral therapy naïve patients 2. Age > 12 years Exclusion criteria- 'Transferred in' patients Age < 12 years. A prospective cohort studies. At Anti-retroviral therapy centre, Sadar Hospital Khagaria. Flow chart- First visit of HIV seropositive patient-----History/clinical examination of patients H/o substance abuse (nature of substance. ? drug dependence/abuse)-------search of opportunistic infections-----------CD4 T cell count-----anti-retroviral drugs and treatment of OI, if present------follow up biweekly (first month)-----then monthly follow up for six months------CD4+ T cell count.

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