The study was carried out in a Hospital of Reference in Infectious Diseases of Ceará, from February 2006 to February 2007, and and aimed at identifying the socio-demographic profile of Enfuvirtide users and their main difficulties/facilities in previous and current treatment scheme. The initial sample analyzed the medical record of 23 patients;18 agreed to participate, comprising the final sample. The descriptive analysis of quantitative data was carried out through the distribution of frequencies and quantitative data, submitted for content analysis. It was observed that 83% were male, 78% were single and the majority was between 30 and 52 years old and, in average, eight years and a half of antiretroviral treatment. From qualitative data, two categories emerged: (1) Previous treatment: difficulties and adversities and (2) Current treatment: from cognition to ability. The difficulties to conduct previous treatments were related to the size and high amount of tablets and side effects. As for facility, the easy drug administration was indicated. Regarding the current treatment, the difficulties were self administration and nodules on the sites where Enfuvirtide was applied and the facilities were absence of gastrointestinal effects and improvement of viral load. It's important to implement an interdisciplinary work that helps patients overcome the difficulties of the treatment, in addition to works in groups in order to better address the difficulties and help increase adhesion to treatment.
Aids; Treatment; Enfuvirtide
