3rd International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment Rio de Janeiro - July 24 - 27, 2005

THE LEVEL OF PERSISTENT VIREMIA DOES NOT INCREASE AFTER SIMPLIFICATION OF MAINTENANCE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY TO LOPINAVIR/RITONAVIR ALONE

IAS Conf HIV Pathog Treat 2005 Jul 24-27;3rd: Abstract No. WeOa0203

McKinnon J.E.¹, Arribas J.R.², Pulido F.³, Delgado R.³, Mellors J.W.^1
1University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, United States of America, ²Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain, ³Hospital Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain

INTRODUCTION: Induction-maintenance strategies are being re-evaluated with the goal of simplifying maintenance therapy to a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor alone. Persistent, low-level viremia has been detected in most patients on combination therapy despite HIV-1 RNA suppression to <50 copies/ml. Simplification of maintenance therapy could affect the level of persistent viremia. To assess this, we determined HIV-1 RNA levels in longitudinal plasma samples from patients enrolled in the OK Study: a comparison of simplified maintenance therapy with lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) alone vs. continued therapy with 2 NRTI+LPV/r. Of the 42 patients randomized, 4/21 failed therapy in the LPV/r arm vs. 1/21 in the continued therapy arm. The remaining patients were suppressed <50 copies/ml through 48 weeks.

METHODS: Plasma samples from each subject at baseline, week – 4 and week – 8 were tested simultaneously (to eliminate inter-assay variation) using a modified Roche Amplicor HIV-1 RNA assay (v1.5) with a quantification limit of 3.0 copies/ml.

RESULTS: The median level of viremia (copies/ml) between the treatment arms was not significantly different at any time point: Baseline (6.4 vs. 4.0), week – 4 (3.8 vs. 2.9) and week – 8 (3.8 vs. 3.3). In addition, no significant difference was seen in the proportion of patients with undetectable HIV-1 RNA between the treatment arms at any time point. In the LPV/r alone arm, the persistent viremia level between virologic-failures and non-failures was not different at baseline and week – 4 but by week – 8 there was a trend toward higher level viremia in the failures (p-value=0.087).

CONCLUSIONS: The level of persistent viremia in patients suppressed to <50 copies/ml on combination therapy did not change at 4 or 8 weeks after simplification to LPV/r alone, implying that suppression of HIV-1 replication was maintained.

Download PDF of this abstract.

050724
Clinical | WeOa0203 | John Ernest Mckinnon
Treatment simplification

Copyright © 2005 - International AIDS Society (IAS). All information and content relating to the abstracts from the 3rd International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio clips, and software is protected by copyright. Permission is hereby granted for the non-commercial use or reproduction of the information on this web site, provided that the use of such information is accompanied by an acknowledgement that IAS is the source of the information and the name of the author of the article.

AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2005. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2005. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. Permission is hereby granted for the non-commercial use or reproduction of the information herein, provided that the use of such information is accompanied by an acknowledgement that IAS is the source of the information and the name of the author of the article.