ABSTRACT Antiretroviral therapy interferes with the replication of the HIV virus, stops the progression of infection, and prevents early mortality in infected children. This research investigated the sociodemographic profile and parameters related to the antiretroviral treatment of HIV positive children living in the state of Paraná. This is a descriptive observational and analytical study, carried out with secondary data from the year 2020, referring to children up to 12 years of age. The profile, prevalence, medicines in use, treatment abandonment, viral resistance, and viral suppression were investigated. A total of 148 children were identified, with a prevalence equal to 8.1/100,000 in Paraná. All infants had begun their treatment, but 17,2% abandoned it. Among children who remained on treatment, 9.8% did not achieve viral suppression and their viral loads commonly exceeded 1000 viral copies/mL. There was a predominance of drug regimens probably prescribed after treatment failures. The results indicate that Paraná presents good results in terms of rapid initiation of therapy and viral suppression in children. However, there is a considerable number of abandonments of therapy and therapeutic failures, indicating the need to strengthen the link between this population and health services.

ABSTRACT Antiretroviral therapy interferes with the replication of the HIV virus, stops the progression of infection, and prevents early mortality in infected children. This research investigated the sociodemographic profile and parameters related to the antiretroviral treatment of HIV positive children living in the state of Paraná. This is a descriptive observational and analytical study, carried out with secondary data from the year 2020, referring to children up to 12 years of age. The profile, prevalence, medicines in use, treatment abandonment, viral resistance, and viral suppression were investigated. A total of 148 children were identified, with a prevalence equal to 8.1/100,000 in Paraná. All infants had begun their treatment, but 17,2% abandoned it. Among children who remained on treatment, 9.8% did not achieve viral suppression and their viral loads commonly exceeded 1000 viral copies/mL. There was a predominance of drug regimens probably prescribed after treatment failures. The results indicate that Paraná presents good results in terms of rapid initiation of therapy and viral suppression in children. However, there is a considerable number of abandonments of therapy and therapeutic failures, indicating the need to strengthen the link between this population and health services.