Muhammad Waqar Aslam Khan, Usman Nawaz, Ali Faheem, Mehwish Memon, Mahak Memon, Aleem-ul Haq.
Effectiveness of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Pakistan.
J Islamic Int Med Coll Jan ;18(1):27-31.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in HIV Clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Study Design: A descriptive study covering the data of clients who were offered PrEP. Place and Duration of Study: HIV treatment center Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad, Pakistan, from October 2019 to September 2022.Materials and Methods: Total of 118 people without HIV from various high-risk population groups were reported in HIV treatment center PIMS during a period of 3 years including 39 females from serodiscordant couples, 16 transgender females, and 63 men having sex with men (MSM). All of them were given oral PrEP after necessary screening, investigations, and evaluation. These clients were prescribed a fixed drug combination of Tenofovir/Lamivudine (TDF/3TC) one tablet daily as PrEP. The alternate regimen used was Event-driven PrEP (EDP) for MSM. Monthly follow-up was performed, and all patients were found to be HIV negative. Results: All 118 clients receiving PrEP remained seronegative on regular monthly follow-ups after a sufficiently long period of unsafe sexual practices that frequently exposed them to HIV-positive sex partners. Based on their age mean age of the clients in young group below 35 years was 27 + 6, all 62 young clients had 100% protection. Similarly, 41 middle aged (mean age 43 + 6) and 15 old clients (mean age 56 + 5) had 100% protection with PrEP. Six women from serodiscordant couples while receiving PrEP became pregnant with partners who had completely suppressed viral load (<50 copies).Conclusion: Oral PrEP has offered complete protection to all seronegative individuals belonging to high-risk population groups despite their frequent exposure to HIV-positive partners. All 118 individuals who received PrEP remained seronegative.

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