Brozin, Daniel2024-11-112024-11-112024Brozin, Daniel. (2024). A Review of HIV-Positive Patients at Chris Hani Baragwaneth Hospital on Third Line Antiretroviral Therapy [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDSpace.https://hdl.handle.net/10539/42316https://hdl.handle.net/10539/42316A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine to the Faculty of Health Science, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024In South Africa’s battle against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS) epidemic, the ability of patients to readily access antiretroviral therapy (ART), has led to a significant reduction in mortality due to AIDS associated diseases. As per the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), there are approximately 7.5 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa with HIV/AIDS. Of this subset, approximately 7 million people are aware of their status, with 5.5 million people currently on ART, and approximately 5 million people with an undetectable viral load. As we have more patients who are on first-line ART for a longer period, we are experiencing an increasing rate of treatment failure, with patents having to undergo regime switches, often to Protease Inhibitor (PI) based second line regimens, As a result of more patients being on PI-based regimens for longer periods of time, a subset of patients with virological failure on second-line treatment has emerged. These patients require more costly and clinically challenging third-line therapy regimens (1) . As one spends a longer period of time on a particular regime, in the setting of non-compliance, which will create a ‘non-suppressed state‘ or low level viraemia, the inevitability of an accumulation of mutations to standard ART will increase. Studies done investigating the reasons for treatment failure in the South African context have provided many explanations concerning the above-mentioned issuen© 2024 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Antiretroviral Treatment FailureThird Line ARTSouth AfricaUCTDSDG-3: Good health and well-beingDissertationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg