Baseline and Process Factors of Anti-Retroviral Therapy That Predict Loss to Follow-up Among People Living with HIV/AIDS in China: A Retrospective Cohort Study

• Published in: AIDS and behavior Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 1126 - 1137
• Main Authors: Xie, Jinzhao, Gu, Jing, Chen, Xiuyuan, Liu, Cong, Zhong, Haidan, Du, Peishan, Li, Quanmin, Lau, Joseph T. F., Hao, Chun, Li, Linghua, Hao, Yuantao, Cai, Weiping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-04-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiretroviral therapy; Archives & records; China - epidemiology; Cohort analysis; Confidence intervals; Electronic Health Records; Electronic medical records; Follow-Up Studies; Health behavior; Health Psychology; Health status; HIV; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - epidemiology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Information technology; Lost to Follow-Up; Medical records; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Paper; Patients; Prediction models; Public Health; Retrospective Studies; China; Loss to follow-up; China; Antiretroviral therapy; Predictive model
• ISSN: 1090-7165; 1573-3254
• DOI: 10.1007/s10461-021-03466-8

We explored the predictors and predictive models of loss to follow-up (LTFU) during the first year of anti-retroviral therapy (ART). LTFU was defined as the failure to visit the clinic for antiretroviral drugs for ≥ 90 days after the last missed scheduled visit. Based on the electronic medical records of 5953 patients who were HIV positive and began ART between 2016 and 2019 in China, the LTFU rate was 7.24 (95% confidence interval 6.49–7.97) per 100 person-years during the first year of ART. ART baseline factors were associated with LTFU, but were non-optimal predictors. A model including ART process-related factors such as follow-up behaviors and physical health status had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 73.4% for predicting LTFU. Therefore, the medical records of follow-up visits can be used to identify patients with a high risk of LTFU and allow interventions to be implemented proactively.