BACKGROUND: The applicability of clinical trial findings (efficacy) to the routine care setting (effectiveness) may be limited because of study eligibility criteria and volunteer bias. Although well-chronicled in many conditions, the efficacy versus effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains understudied. METHODS: A retrospective study of the University of Alabama at Birmingham 1917 Clinic Cohort evaluated ART-naive patients who started ART from 1 January 2000 through 31 December 2006. Patients received ART through clinical trials or routine care. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models were fit to evaluate factors associated with virological failure (virological failure was defined as a viral load >50 copies/mL) and change from baseline CD4+ cell count 6 and 12 months after ART initiation. Sensitivity analyses evaluated the impact of missing data on outcomes. RESULTS: Among 570 patients starting ART during the study period, 121 (21%) enrolled in clinical trials, and 449 (79%) received ART via routine care. ART receipt through routine care was not associated with viral failure at either 6 months (odds ratio [OR], 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54-1.86) or 12 months (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 0.80-3.05) in primary analyses. No statistically significant differences in CD4+ cell count responses at 6 and 12 months were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Although marked differences in efficacy versus effectiveness have been observed in the therapeutic outcomes of other conditions, our analyses found no evidence of such divergence among our patients who initiated antiretroviral therapy for human immunodeficiency virus infection.

BACKGROUND: Dramatic increases in the number of patients requiring linkage to treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are anticipated in response to updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV testing recommendations that advocate routine, opt-out HIV testing. METHODS: A retrospective analysis nested within a prospective HIV clinical cohort study evaluated patients who established initial outpatient treatment for HIV infection at the University of Alabama at Birmingham 1917 HIV/AIDS Clinic from 1 January 2000 through 31 December 2005. Survival methods were used to evaluate the impact of missed visits during the first year of care on subsequent mortality in the context of other baseline sociodemographic, psychosocial, and clinical factors. Mortality was ascertained by query of the Social Security Death Index as of 1 August 2007. RESULTS: Among 543 study participants initiating outpatient care for HIV infection, 60% missed a visit within the first year. The mortality rate was 2.3 deaths per 100 person-years for patients who missed visits, compared with 1.0 deaths per 100 person-years for those who attended all scheduled appointments during the first year after establishing outpatient treatment (P = .02). In Cox proportional hazards analysis, higher hazards of death were independently associated with missed visits (hazard ratio, 2.90; 95% confidence interval, 1.28-6.56), older age (hazard ratio, 1.58 per 10 years of age; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-2.22), and baseline CD4+ cell count < 200 cells/mm(3) (hazard ratio, 2.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-7.30). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who missed visits within the first year after initiating outpatient treatment for HIV infection had more than twice the rate of long-term mortality, compared with those patients who attended all scheduled appointments. We posit that early missed visits are not causally responsible for the higher observed mortality but, rather, identify those patients who are more likely to exhibit health behaviors that portend increased subsequent mortality.

Following HIV diagnosis, linkage to outpatient treatment, antiretroviral initiation, and longitudinal retention in care represent the foundation for successful treatment. While prior studies have evaluated these processes in isolation, a systematic evaluation of successive steps in the same cohort of patients has not yet been performed. To ensure optimal long-term outcomes, a better understanding of the interplay of these processes is needed. Therefore, a retrospective cohort study of patients initiating outpatient care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham 1917 HIV=AIDS Clinic between January 2000 and December 2005 was undertaken. Multivariable models determined factors associated with: late diagnosis=linkage to care (initial CD4 < 350 cells=mm3), timely antiretroviral initiation, and retention across the first two years of care. Delayed linkage was observed in two-thirds of the overall sample (n = 567) and was associated with older age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31 per 10 years; 95%confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-1.62) and African American race (OR = 2.45; 95% CI = 1.60-3.74). Attending all clinic visits (hazard ratio [HR] = 6.45; 95% CI = 4.47-9.31) and lower initial CD4 counts led to earlier antiretroviral initiation. Worse retention in the first 2 years was associated with younger age (OR = 0.68 per 10 years;95% CI = 0.56-0.83), higher baseline CD4 count, and substance abuse (OR = 1.78; 95% CI = 1.16-2.73). Interventions to improve timely HIV diagnosis and linkage to care should focus on older patients and African Americans while efforts to improve retention should address younger patients, those with higher baseline CD4 counts, and substance abuse. Missed clinic visits represent an important obstacle to the timely initiation of antiretroviral therapy. These data inform development of interventions to improve linkage and retention in HIV care, an emerging area of growing importance.