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. 2022 Feb 7;12(1):2031.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-06005-0.

Effect of single tablet regimen on prescription trends for treatment-naïve patients with HIV/AIDS in Korea

Kyung Sun Oh  1   2 , Gi Hyeon Seo  3 , Hee Kyoung Choi  1   4 , Euna Han  5
Affiliations

Effect of single tablet regimen on prescription trends for treatment-naïve patients with HIV/AIDS in Korea

Kyung Sun Oh et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Single-tablet regimens (STRs) should be considered for patients with HIV/AIDS to increase medication compliance and improve clinical outcomes. This study compared variations in the prescription trends between STRs and multiple-tablet regimens (MTRs) for treatment-naïve patients with HIV/AIDS after the approval of the new STRs, a proxy indicator for improvement in medication adherence. The medical and pharmacy claim data were retrospectively obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment service, which contains basic information on the patients' sociodemographic characteristics and treatment information for the entire Korean population. From 2013 to 2018, a total of 6737 patients with HIV/AIDS were included. Most patients were men (92.8%, n = 6251) and insured through the National Health Insurance (95.1%, n = 6410). The mean number of pills in their antiretroviral treatment regimens decreased from 2.8 ± 1.2 in 2013 to 1.2 ± 1.0 in 2018. After the first STR (EVG/c/TDF/FTC) was approved in 2014, prescription transitions from MTR to STR were observed among more than 38% of patients. In 2018, most treatment-naïve patients were prescribed STRs (91.2%). There was a time lag for STR prescription trends in non-metropolitan hospitals compared with those in metropolitan cities. Our data provide a valuable perspective for evaluating ART regimen prescription patterns on a national scale.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trends in prescribed ART for treatment-naïve individuals with HIV/AIDS and change of pill burden from 2013 to 2018 in Korea. Proportions are noted in the vertical bars. ART = antiretroviral treatment; SD = standard deviation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prescription rates of single-tablet regimens from 2013 to 2018 by metropolitan area vs. regional area. Vertical lines indicate the approval date of single-tablet regimens: [1] Elvitegravir/cobicistat/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine; [2] Rilpivirine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine; [3] Dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine; [4] Elvitegravir/cobicistat/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate/emtricitabine.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Geographic trends in the prescription rate of single-tablet regimens in South Korea. This represents percentages of single-tablet regimens for treatment- naïve individuals with HIV/AIDS by state: Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan, Sejong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Jeollabuk-do, Jellanam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Jeju-do. Maps were generated by KSO with the grmap command in STATA (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA) and spatial data of Statistics in Korea (https://sgis.kostat.go.kr).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Steps for identifying the study population of treatment naïve HIV-infected patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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