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AIDS Care
Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV
Volume 34, 2022 - Issue 3
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Research Article

Pilot comparison of the ease of swallowing of single tablet antiretroviral regimens

, , , , &
Pages 404-407 | Received 19 Oct 2020, Accepted 19 May 2021, Published online: 14 Jun 2021
 

ABSTRACT

Daily adherence to lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) is required to achieve long term treatment success. However, patient preferences for ART tablet size have not been well studied. Our study assessed factors associated with the ease of swallowing (EoS) and tolerability of two placebo tablets representing and matching B/F/TAF (BPT) and DTG/ABC/3TC (DPT). Fifty ART-naïve patients were randomized into a two-period cross-over study. Likert scale (1–5) questionnaires were administered to assess patient factors influencing the ease of swallowing, adherence, home medications, medication preferences and perceptions. Comparisons were done using Student t-tests and ordinal regression. Participants were 64% female, 61% white, mean age 43 years, and taking a mean (median) of 4(1) pills/day. BPT was reported to be easier than DPT with ease of swallowability 1.76 vs. 2.42 (p < 0.001) (1 = very easy). DPT tablet was correctly perceived as larger than BPT (p < 0.001); with both tablets perceived as smaller than actual size (p < 0.001). EoS of either tablet was positively associated with the EoS of the largest home tablet medication (p = 0.021, p = 0.03). Patient's perceptions of EoS can affect their medication adherence, especially in HIV, and should be considered in treatment regimens.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors TPA, ZO and JEM. Authors JCL, IM, and RHH are employees of Gilead and hold Gilead stock. This work was supported by Gilead under a collaborative grant IN-US-380-4657.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Gilead Sciences [IN-US-380-4657].

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