HIV Treatment While Incarcerated Helped Prisoners Achieve Viral Suppression

Treating inmates for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while they were incarcerated in Connecticut helped a majority of them achieve viral suppression by the time they were released. 
 
The study was conducted by Jaimie P. Meyer, MD, of the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., and colleagues and was published in JAMA Internal Medicine. 
 
The authors evaluated HIV treatment outcomes during incarceration by studying 882 HIV-infected prisoners with 1,185 incarceration periods in the Connecticut Department of Corrections (2005-2012). The inmates were incarcerated for at least 90 days, had laboratory results regarding their infection, and were prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART). Most of the inmates were men with an average age of nearly 43 years. Almost half were black.  
 
While 29.8 percent of inmates began their incarceration having already achieved viral suppression (HIV viral load <400 copies/ml), 70 percent of the inmates achieved viral suppression before release. Viral suppression was attained regardless of age, race/ethnicity, duration of incarceration or type of ART regimen.
 
Funding for this research was provided through a Bristol Myers-Squibb Virology Fellows Award and career development grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

In a related commentary, "Progress in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Care in Prisons," Michael Puisis, DO, a correctional consultant from Evanston, Ill., writes: “Unfortunately, the features of the excellent correctional care provided to HIV-infected persons in this Connecticut system are not available to all of the estimated 20,000 HIV-infected persons incarcerated in federal or state facilities. While the Connecticut study is a positive accomplishment, HIV care in correctional centers still needs improvement in several areas,” Puisis continues. We should take fullest advantage of the incarceration period, when people can receive supervised treatment, to improve their health and to develop discharge plans that will maintain these benefits on the outside."