Important note: Information in this article was accurate in February 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, February 22, 1999
Daniel J. DeNoon, Senior Editor
Since March 1996, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens have been available to inner-city residents of Atlanta, Georgia, at an outpatient clinic that is part of the Grady Health System. But after discharge from Grady Hospital, fewer than 15 percent of these patients have visited the outpatient clinic or received HAART.
Unsurprisingly, given such data, this population has seen no reduction in hospitalizations or opportunistic infections from 1994 through 1997.
"This study demonstrates that most HIV patients in the inner city do not take advantage of the very effective therapies that are available to them," said Carlos del Rio of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Del Rio presented the findings at the 6th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, held January 31-February 4, 1999, in Chicago, Illinois.
The outpatient clinic is staffed by Emory faculty and offers access to highly trained primary care providers, oral and mental health services, and case-management and housing assistance.
As of December 1997, more than 1,000 patients had been prescribed HAART at the clinic. But this treatment-compliant group apparently represents only the tip of the patient iceberg.
"Although HAART has caused a dramatic decrease in AIDS-associated mortality and hospitalizations, for inner-city populations in particular, additional resources need to be allocated to get these patients into outpatient care."
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