12th Annual Conference of the British HIV Association 29 March–1 April 2006, Brighton, UK

ADULTS WITH LOW CD4 CELL COUNTS THAT WERE NOT RECEIVING ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY IN ENGLAND, WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND IN 2004

HIV Med 2006; 7(Suppl. 1):1 (abstract no. O1)

Victoria Bryant, Tim Chadborn, Bela Patel and Valerie Delpech
Health Protection Agency, London, UK

AIMS: To investigate factors that were associated with the proportion of adults with low CD4 cell counts (CD4<200 cells/µl) that were not receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART).

METHODS:The annual Survey of Prevalent HIV Infections Diagnosed (SOPHID) provides an epidemiological profile of, and determines the prevalence of, individuals living with diagnosed HIV infections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Adults reported to the 2004 SOPHID survey with both CD4 and ART reported were included in the dataset.

RESULTS: Individuals with CD4<200 accounted for 14% (4934/35,242) of all reports in 2004, of which 19% (950) were not on ART. The proportion of individuals with CD4<200 not on ART varied from 9% (Northern Ireland) to 36% (North East) across region of treatment. There was also variation across SHAs within regions. The proportion not on ART varied by most advanced clinical stage: 55% death with AIDS, 13% AIDS, 17% symptoms pre-AIDS and 29% asymptomatic. The proportion of individuals not on ART decreased with increasing age (26% at 15–24; 15% at 50+). There was little difference observed by ethnicity, exposure category or sex. Recent diagnoses accounted for 16% (84/ 514) of individuals not on ART with CD4<200 in London.

CONCLUSIONS: One in five individuals with low CD4 cell counts were not on ART, of which relatively few were because they were recently diagnosed. Further work will be required to investigate regional and demographic differences in the proportion not on treatment and to consider reasons why people were not on ART according to BHIVA guidelines.

2006-03-29
O1

Copyright © 2006 - British HIV Association (BHIVA) Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BHIVA Organising Secretariat 1 Mountview Court, 310 Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0LD