Viljoen, MichelleRudman, ChristianRheeders, Malie2021-01-072021-01-072020Viljoen, M. et al. (2020). A retrospective descriptive investigation of adult patients receiving third-line antiretroviral therapy in the North West province, South Africa. African Health Sciences, 20(2), 549-5591680-690510.4314/ahs.v20i2.2http://hdl.handle.net/10566/5603Greater access and prolonged exposure to ART may inevitably lead to more treatment failure and increase the need for third-line ART (TLART) in a resource-limited setting. Objective: To describe characteristics and resistance patterns of adult patients initiated on TLART in three districts of the North West province. Method: All-inclusive retrospective descriptive investigation. Demographics and clinical variables were recorded from adult patient health records (2002-2017) and analysed. Results: 21 Patients (17 females, 4 males) with median (IQR) age of 34 years (30.2-37.8) at HIV diagnosis and 45 years (39.5-47) at TLART initiation were included. Median duration (days) from HIV diagnosis to first-line ART initiation was 101 (37-367), treatment duration on first-line, second-line and between second-line failure and TLART initiation were: 1 269 (765-2 343); 1 512 (706-2096) and 71 (58-126) days respectively.enDrug resistance patternsHIVSalvage therapyThird-line antiretroviral therapySouth AfricaArticle