The database is at the very heart of what the RDI does. It is the engine
that drives us forward to a better understanding of how changes in the
genetic code of HIV affect the susceptibility of the virus and the way
patients respond to different drugs, and towards more informed, individualized
treatment decisions.
The database contains thousands of data samples from numerous sources around the world. As of January 2007, the database contained data from approximately 30,000 patients.
Each data sample consists of a treatment change episode (TCE). A TCE includes all the relevant data for a patient around when s/he were started on a new course of antiretroviral drug therapy. These data include the following critical elements:
- The plasma viral load (amount of HIV in the bloodstream) immediately before the treatment change (baseline)
- The genotype at baseline
- The CD4 count at baseline
- Treatment history information
- The drugs used in the new regimen
- The viral load at a subsequent time point (between 4 and 48 weeks but typically 12, 16 or 24 weeks) so that the change in viral load (the virological response) can be calculated
The graph below illustrates the data that constitute a TCE.
It is vital to the success of the RDI that we are given more data
so that we can develop the database further. If you have data to contribute
please contact us as soon as possible. An information sheet on our data
requirements is available to be downloaded as a pdf below.
Data Requirements 
(123k)
Database structure
The RDI database has been conceptually modeled into a 'star/snowflake
schema' as used in the design of data marts and data warehouses. This
modeling approach allows for good performance when querying the database
and is suited for data that is read only or data that is periodically
updated.
The RDI has been modeled on an Oracle 10G database. The Oracle database
is an industry standard database and one that is well known for its
stability, scalability and performance.
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