Antiretroviral treatment in pregnancy: a six-year perspective on recent trends in prescription patterns, viral load suppression, and pregnancy outcomes.

Abstract The aim of the study was to describe the recent trends in antiretroviral treatment in late pregnancy and the sociodemographic changes among pregnant women with HIV over the last 6 years. Data from the National Program on Surveillance on Antiretroviral Treatment in Pregnancy in Italy were grouped per calendar year, and changes in antiretroviral treatment, population characteristics, maternal immunovirologic status and newborn clinical parameters were analyzed. A total of 981 HIV-infected mothers who delivered between 2002 and 2008 were evaluated. The proportion of women receiving at least three antiretroviral drugs at delivery increased significantly from 63.0% in 2002 to 95.5% in 2007–2008, paralleled by a similar upward trend in the proportion of women who achieved complete viral suppression at third trimester (from 37.3 in 2002 to 80.9 in 2007–2008; p < 0.001). The co-formulation of zidovudine plus lamivudine remained the most common nucleoside backbone in pregnancy, even if a significant incre...