Because of multi-drug regimens known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV infection can now be considered a chronic, manageable disease for many people in the United States. However, these therapies come with complex medication administration regimens and numerous distressing side effects that may affect a person's quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the QOL and symptom distress in individuals receiving intermittent versus continuous HAART in the treatment of HIV disease. Thirty five subjects will be assigned to receive continuous HAART therapy and 35 subjects will receive interrupted therapy. Subjects respond to questionnaires that measure QOL and symptom distress using Touch Screen computers. The questionnaires are administered at seven time periods during the study. Data will be analyzed using multivariate techniques. Fifty-two subjects have been accrued to date. Eleven subjects have completed the study. Data collection continues.
| Powers, April E; Marden, Susan F; McConnell, Rose et al. (2006) Effect of long-cycle structured intermittent versus continuous HAART on quality of life in patients with chronic HIV infection. AIDS 20:837-45 |
