4CPS-050 Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV infection: prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and adherence during the programme

Background and Importance Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a preventive measure to avoid HIV infection. The European Medicines Agency approved the guideline of an already marketed antiretroviral drug, Emtricitabine + Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, for once-daily use, which, combined with other prevention and education measures, aims to decrease the transmission of this disease. This programme was implemented in our hospital in November 2021. Aim and Objectives To analyse adherence to treatment and the occurrence of STIs in patients included in PrEP. Material and Methods Observational, prospective, single-centre study. Inclusion criteria: subjects who met the criteria for PrEP program funding, from January 2022 to March 2023 in a tertiary level hospital. The variables collected were adherence and STI occurrence before subjects' inclusion in the program and those detected during programme participation. Adherence to treatment was estimated through the Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire (SMAQ) and dispensing records (DR). Results 50 candidates were included in the study with a mean age of 39 years (range: 23–68). At the beginning, 18 subjects (36%) showed at least one sexually transmitted infection: 6/18 (33%) Ureaplasma urealyticum, 3/18 (17%), Neisseria gonorrhoeae, 3/18 (17%), Chlamydia trachomatis, 3/18 (17%) Mycoplasma genitalium, 2/18 (11%) Haemophilus and 1/18 (5%) Treponema Pallidum, while at quarterly control at least one STI was detected in 22 (44%) of subjects: 6/22 (27%) Chlamydia trachomatis, 4/22 (18%) Neisseria gonorrhoeae, 4/22 (18%) Haemophilus, 3/22 (14%) Streptococcus agalactiae, 2/22 (9%) Ureaplasma urealyticum,2/22 (9%) Mycoplasma genitalium and 1/22 (5%) Treponema Pallidum. Adherence to treatment by evaluation with the SMAQ and RD questionnaire was 96% and 92% respectively. Conclusion and Relevance In our study we observed an increase in STIs after the inclusion of subjects in this programme, due to sexual risk compensation. However, this programme has boosted the increase of STI screening tests and more STIs can be diagnosed and treated. Regarding adherence, in our study we obtained high adherence rates measured by two methods (SMAQ and DR). References and/or Acknowledgements Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest.