Prevalence of, and Factors Influencing First Line Antiretroviral Treatment Failure among Adult HIV Patients at Antiretroviral Treatment Clinic of Mettu Karl Referral Hospital, South Western, Ethiopia: A Prospective Cross Sectional Study, 2021

Antiretroviral treatment failure is defined as progression of disease and high risk of mortality after beginning of highly active anti-retroviral therapy. First-line ART failure has emerged as a growing concern. ART failure is a major challenge to HIV/AIDS management in resource-limited settings including Ethiopia where the diagnosis and management of ART failure is a key problem. Principal factors involving fist-line antiretroviral regimen failure include poor adherence to medication, younger age, lower baseline CD4+ count and higher baseline viral load.