The choice between a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor- and a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimen for initiation of antiretroviral treatment - results from an observational study in Germany

A Case Report of Multiclass HIV Drug-Resistance After an Inappropriate Switch of ARVs with Persistent Unsuppressed Viral Load

HIV drug resistance is an emerging public health concern; appropriate ART combinations and safe drug switches are prerequisites for achieving virologic suppression. In the early 2000, in Sub-Saharan Africa, accent was mostly on prevention and the scale up of Antiretroviral therapy has just initiated. We report a 46-year-old female who was initiated on ART in 2005 in the private sector, had multiple regimens changes for unclear reasons. Over 7 years (2005-2012), she deteriorated and presented with an AIDS defining condition. A genotyping resistance test (GRT) revealed multiple HIV class resistance and was switched to a third-line ART and improved on treatment. This case report shows that the absence of formal ART guidelines in early 2000, long term exposure to ART and failure to timely switch led to treatment failure and development of multiclass drug resistance mutations identified by the HIV-1 GRT and guided the third-line ART regimen with a successful outcome.

A week-48 randomized phase-3 trial of darunavir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide in treatment-naive HIV-1 patients

Objectives:

To investigate efficacy and safety of a single-tablet regimen of darunavir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (D/C/F/TAF) 800/150/200/10 mg vs. darunavir/cobicistat plus emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxyl fumarate (TDF) (control) in antiretroviral-treatment-naive, HIV-1-infected adults.

Design:

Phase-3, randomized, active-controlled, double-blind, international, multicenter, noninferiority study (NCT02431247).

Methods:

Seven hundred and twenty-five participants were randomized (1 : 1) to D/C/F/TAF (362) or control (363). The primary objective was to demonstrate noninferiority of D/C/F/TAF vs. control for percentage viral load less than 50 copies/ml (FDA-snapshot analysis) at 48 weeks (10% margin).

Results:

At week 48, D/C/F/TAF was noninferior to control (91.4 vs. 88.4% achieved viral load <50 copies/ml, respectively; difference 2.7%; 95% CI −1.6 to 7.1; P < 0.0001), with 4.4 vs. 3.3% of patients, respectively, having viral load greater or equal to 50 copies/ml. No treatment-emergent mutations associated with darunavir or TAF/TDF resistance were observed in either group. One patient (D/C/F/TAF) was identified with M184I/V conferring resistance to emtricitabine. Incidences of grades 3 and 4 adverse events (5 vs. 6%), serious adverse events (5 vs. 6%) and adverse event-related discontinuations (2 vs. 4%) were low and similar between groups. Mean decrease in urine protein/creatinine ratio was greater with D/C/F/TAF than control (−22.42 vs. −10.34 mg/g, P = 0.033). Mean percentage change in bone mineral density with D/C/F/TAF vs. control was 0.21 vs. −2.73%, P < 0.0001 (hip), −0.68 vs. −2.38%, P = 0.004 (lumbar spine), and −0.26 vs. −2.97%, P < 0.0001 (femoral neck). Median change from baseline in total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio was 0.20 vs. 0.08, P = 0.036.

Conclusion:

D/C/F/TAF achieved a high virologic suppression rate (91.4%) and was noninferior to darunavir/cobicistat with F/TDF. D/C/F/TAF also demonstrated the bone and renal safety advantages of TAF in combination with darunavir/cobicistat.