What is the effect of pill burden on adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy?

Long-Term Follow-Up of Persons Living with Perinatally Acquired HIV Infection at a Large HIV Treatment Clinic in Trinidad

Data on persons with perinatally acquired HIV infection in the Caribbean are limited; thus, a chart review was conducted among these clients at an adult HIV treatment clinic in Trinidad over the period January 01, 2011-June 30, 2023. Sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory data were extracted and analyzed using RStudio version 2021.09.0. Fifty-four study participants were followed up, age range 18-29 years, and there were 27 (50%) males. Eighteen participants (33.3%) were institutionalized until the age of 18 years, while 36 (66.7%) lived with caregivers/relatives and attended outpatient pediatric clinic. The transition from the sheltered environment of pediatric care to the adult HIV clinic was turbulent for some participants as they experienced HIV-related stigma, which may result in poor HIV outcomes. At the initial clinic visit, 28 (51.9%) study participants were virally suppressed (HIV viral load <1,000 copies/mL), which included 12 (66.7%) of 18 who were institutionalized as compared to 16 (44.4%) of 38 who lived with caregivers/relatives (p = 0.387). Data from their last clinic visit showed 31 (57.4%) participants were virally suppressed; 13 (24.1%) were lost to follow-up from care, and there were 6 (11.1%) deaths; 29 (53.7%) were on antiretroviral therapy single-tablet regimens (STRs) and 25 (46.3%) on complex multiple-tablet regimens (MTRs). Institutionalized clients and those on STRs were more likely to be virally suppressed than those living with relatives (p = 0.043) and those on MTR (p < 0.001), respectively. Reported deaths were higher among clients who lived with caregivers/relatives and those on MTR. Participants of younger age were less likely to achieve viral suppression (p = 0.02). Comprehensive programs that include STRs, the engagement of caregivers/relatives and health workers, life skills, and enhanced psychosocial interventions for youths living with perinatally acquired HIV are important to support the transition to adult care and reduce the complex challenges of living with a stigmatizing disease.

Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine Long-Acting Antiretroviral Therapy Administered Every 2 Months is Cost-Effective for the Treatment of HIV-1 in Spain

INTRODUCTION

Current antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) have improved outcomes for people living with HIV. However, the requirement to adhere to lifelong daily oral dosing may be challenging for some people living with HIV, leading to suboptimal adherence and therefore reduced treatment effectiveness. Treatment with long-acting (LA) ART may improve adherence and health-related quality of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of cabotegravir + rilpivirine (CAB+RPV) LA administered every 2 months (Q2M) compared with current ART administered as daily oral single-tablet regimens (STRs) from a Spanish National Healthcare System perspective.

METHODS

A hybrid decision-tree and Markov state-transition model was used with pooled data from three phase III/IIIb trials (FLAIR, ATLAS, and ATLAS-2M) over a lifetime horizon, with health states defined by viral load and CD4+ cell count. Direct costs (in €) were taken from Spanish public sources from 2021 and several deterministic and probabilistic analyses were carried out. An annual 3% discount rate was applied to both costs and utilities.

RESULTS

Over the lifetime horizon, CAB+RPV LA Q2M was associated with an additional 0.27 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and slightly greater lifetime costs (€4003) versus daily oral ART, leading to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of €15,003/QALY, below the commonly accepted €30,000/QALY willingness-to-pay threshold in Spain. All scenario analyses showed consistent results, and the probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed cost-effectiveness compared with daily oral STRs in 62.4% of simulations, being dominant in 0.3%.

CONCLUSION

From the Spanish National Health System perspective, CAB+RPV LA Q2M is a cost-effective alternative compared with the current options of daily oral STR regimens for HIV treatment.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION

ATLAS, NCT02951052; ATLAS-2M, NCT03299049; FLAIR, NCT02938520.

Development and Validation of an Up-to-Date Highly Sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS Method for the Simultaneous Quantification of Current Anti-HIV Nucleoside Analogues in Human Plasma

Therapeutic options to treat HIV infection have widened in the past years, improving both effectiveness and tolerability, but nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are still considered the standard backbone of the combination regimens. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) can be useful for these drugs, due to concentration–effect relationship, with risk of ineffectiveness, toxicity or adherence concerns: in this scenario, robust and multiplexed methods are needed for an effective TDM activity. In this work, the first validated ultra-high spectrometry liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method is described for the high-sensitive simultaneous quantification of all the currently used NRTIs in human plasma, including tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), following FDA and EMA guidelines. The automated sample preparation consisted in the addition of an internal standard (IS) working solution, containing stable-isotope-linked drugs, protein precipitation and drying. Dry extracts were reconstituted with water, then, these underwent reversed phase chromatographic separation: compounds were detected through electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring. Accuracy, precision, recovery and IS-normalized matrix effect fulfilled guidelines’ requirements. The application of this method on samples from people living with HIV (PLWH) showed satisfactory performance, being capable of quantifying the very low concentrations of tenofovir (TFV) in patients treated with TAF.

Starting or Switching to an Integrase Inhibitor-Based Regimen Affects PTSD Symptoms in Women with HIV

As the use of Integrase inhibitor (INSTI)-class antiretroviral medications becomes more common to maintain long-term viral suppression, early reports suggest the potential for CNS side-effects when starting or switching to an INSTI-based regimen. In a population already at higher risk for developing mood and anxiety disorders, these drugs may have significant effects on PTSD scale symptom scores, particularly in women with HIV (WWH). A total of 551 participants were included after completing ≥ 1 WIHS study visits before and after starting/switching to an INSTI-based ART regimen. Of these, 14% were ART naïve, the remainder switched from primarily a protease inhibitor (PI) or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based regimen. Using multivariable linear mixed effects models, we compared PTSD Civilian Checklist subscale scores before and after a "start/switch" to dolutegravir (DTG), raltegravir (RAL), or elvitegravir (EVG). Start/switch to EVG improved re-experiencing subscale symptoms (P's < 0.05). Switching to EVG improved symptoms of avoidance (P = 0.01). Starting RAL improved arousal subscale symptoms (P = 0.03); however, switching to RAL worsened re-experiencing subscale symptoms (P < 0.005). Starting DTG worsened avoidance subscale symptoms (P = 0.03), whereas switching to DTG did not change subscale or overall PTSD symptoms (P's > 0.08). In WWH, an EVG-based ART regimen is associated with improved PTSD symptoms, in both treatment naïve patients and those switching from other ART. While a RAL-based regimen was associated with better PTSD symptoms than in treatment naïve patients, switching onto a RAL-based regimen was associated with worse PTSD symptoms. DTG-based regimens either did not affect, or worsened symptoms, in both naïve and switch patients. Further studies are needed to determine mechanisms underlying differential effects of EVG, RAL and DTG on stress symptoms in WWH.

HIV-1 re-suppression on a first-line regimen despite the presence of phenotypic drug resistance

We have previously reported on HIV-1 infected patients who fail anti-retroviral therapy but manage to re-suppress without a regimen change despite harbouring major drug resistance mutations. Here we explore phenotypic drug resistance in such patients in order to better understand this phenomenon. Patients (n = 71) failing a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based regimen, but who subsequently re-suppressed on the same regimen, were assessed for HIV-1 genotypic drug resistance through Sanger sequencing. A subset (n = 23) of these samples, as well as genotypically matched samples from patients who did not re-suppress (n = 19), were further assessed for phenotypic drug resistance in an in vitro single cycle assay. Half of the patients (n = 36/71, 51%) harboured genotypic drug resistance, with M184V (n = 18/36, 50%) and K103N (n = 16/36, 44%) being the most prevalent mutations. No significant difference in the median time to re-suppression (31–39 weeks) were observed for either group (p = 0.41). However, re-suppressors with mutant virus rebounded significantly earlier than those with wild-type virus (16 vs. 33 weeks; p = 0.014). Similar phenotypic drug resistance profiles were observed between patients who re-suppressed and patients who failed to re-suppress. While most remained susceptible to stavudine (d4T) and zidovudine (AZT), both groups showed a reduced susceptibility to 3TC and NNRTIs. HIV- 1 infected patients on an NNRTI-based regimen can achieve viral re-suppression on the same regimen despite harbouring viruses with genotypic and phenotypic drug resistance. However, re-suppression was less durable in those with resistance, reinforcing the importance of appropriate regimen choices, ongoing viral load monitoring and adherence counselling.

A systematic review of factors influencing treatment adherence in chronic inflammatory skin disease - strategies for optimizing treatment outcome

Adherence describes how a patient follows a medical regime recommended by a healthcare provider. Poor treatment adherence represents a complex and challenging problem of international healthcare systems, as it has a substantial impact on clinical outcomes and patient safety and constitutes an important financial burden. Since it is one of the most common causes of treatment failure, it is extremely important for physicians to reliably distinguish between non-adherence and non-response. This systematic review aims to summarize the current literature on treatment adherence in dermatology, focusing on chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and acne. A systematic literature search was performed using the PubMed Database, including articles from 2008 to 2018. Low treatment adherence is a multidimensional phenomenon defined by the interplay of numerous factors and should under no circumstances be considered as the patient's fault alone. Factors influencing treatment adherence in dermatology include patient characteristics and beliefs, treatment efficacy and duration, administration routes, disease chronicity and the disease itself. Moreover, the quality of the physician-patient relationship including physician-time available for the patient plays an important role. Understanding patients' adherence patterns and the main drivers of non-adherence creates opportunities to improve adherence in the future. Strategies to increase treatment adherence range from reminder programs to simplifying prescriptions or educational interventions. Absolute adherence to treatment may not be realistically achievable, but efforts need to be made to raise awareness in order to maximize adherence as far as possible.

SESOTHO trial ("Switch Either near Suppression Or THOusand") - switch to second-line versus WHO-guided standard of care for unsuppressed patients on first-line ART with viremia below 1000 copies/mL: protocol of a multicenter, parallel-group, open-label, randomized clinical trial in Lesotho, Southern Africa

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends viral load (VL) measurement as the preferred monitoring strategy for HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings. The new WHO guidelines 2016 continue to define virologic failure as two consecutive VL ≥1000 copies/mL (at least 3 months apart) despite good adherence, triggering switch to second-line therapy. However, the threshold of 1000 copies/mL for defining virologic failure is based on low-quality evidence. Observational studies have shown that individuals with low-level viremia (measurable but below 1000 copies/mL) are at increased risk for accumulation of resistance mutations and subsequent virologic failure. The SESOTHO trial assesses a lower threshold for switch to second-line ART in patients with sustained unsuppressed VL.

METHODS

In this multicenter, parallel-group, open-label, randomized controlled trial conducted in Lesotho, patients on first-line ART with two consecutive unsuppressed VL measurements ≥100 copies/mL, where the second VL is between 100 and 999 copies/mL, will either be switched to second-line ART immediately (intervention group) or not be switched (standard of care, according to WHO guidelines). The primary endpoint is viral resuppression (VL < 50 copies/mL) 9 months after randomization. We will enrol 80 patients, giving us 90% power to detect a difference of 35% in viral resuppression between the groups (assuming two-sided 5% alpha error). For our primary analysis, we will use a modified intention-to-treat set, with those lost to care, death, or crossed over considered failure to resuppress, and using logistic regression models adjusted for the prespecified stratification variables.

DISCUSSION

The SESOTHO trial challenges the current WHO guidelines, assessing an alternative, lower VL threshold for patients with unsuppressed VL on first-line ART. This trial will provide data to inform future WHO guidelines on VL thresholds to recommend switch to second-line ART.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03088241 ), registered May 05, 2017.