Identification of a novel and severe pattern of efavirenz drug-induced liver injury in South Africa

Acute liver failure in low-income and middle-income countries

Acute liver failure is a rare condition involving the rapid development, progression, and worsening of liver dysfunction, characterised by coagulopathy and encephalopathy, and has a high mortality unless liver transplantation is performed. Population-based studies are scarce, and most published data are from high-income countries, where the main cause of acute liver failure is paracetamol overdose. This Review provides an overview of the scanty literature on acute liver failure in low-income and middle-income countries, where patients are often admitted to primary care hospitals and viral hepatitis (especially hepatitis E), tropical infections (eg, dengue), traditional medicines, and drugs (especially anti-tuberculosis drugs) have an important role. We discuss incidence, cause, occurrence in children and pregnant women, prognostic factors and scores, treatment, and mortality. To conclude, we advocate for international collaboration, the establishment of central registries for the condition, and better diagnostics.

Severe efavirenz associated neurotoxicity: A retrospective cohort study

Background

Efavirenz (EFV) is associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms. Severe neurotoxicity has been reported but the clinical phenotype and risk factors are poorly defined.

Objectives

To characterise clinical presentations, risk factors and outcomes to help clinicians recognise severe neurotoxicity earlier.

Method

The authors retrospectively identified adults with supratherapeutic EFV concentrations (> 4 mg/L) obtained during routine clinical care in Cape Town, South Africa. Clinical and laboratory data at the time of EFV quantification were extracted from medical records. Logistic regression was performed to identify associations with neuropsychiatric symptoms, and with severe neurotoxicity.

Results

Eighty one patients were included; 62 with neuropsychiatric manifestations (most frequently ataxia [n = 20] and psychomotor slowing [n = 24]); and 19 with hepatotoxicity. Overall, 28 (34.6%) were male, 49 (60.5%) had concomitant isoniazid exposure, and median EFV concentration was 12.1 mg/L (interquartile range [IQR]: 6.6-20.0). Neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with longer duration of EFV therapy, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.3/180-day increment (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-1.7); higher EFV concentrations, aOR 1.2/1 mg/L increase (95% CI: 1.0-1.4) and isoniazid exposure, aOR 8.2 (95% CI: 2.5-26.7). Severe neuropsychiatric symptoms occurred in 47 (75%) patients at a median of 5.9 months (IQR: 2.1-40.8) after EFV initiation. Severe symptoms odds were 1.2-fold higher (95% CI: 1.1-1.4) per 1 mg/L increase in EFV concentration. Symptoms resolved completely within 1 month in 25 (76%) patients with severe neurotoxicity who discontinued EFV.

Conclusion

A concentration-effect relationship for severe neurotoxicity exists, which occurred late and resolved in most patients after EFV discontinuation.

Contribution

The authors highlighted clinical heterogeneity and morbidity of EFV-associated neurotoxicity.

Drug-induced liver injury: Relation between the R ratio and histopathology

INTRODUCTION AND AIM

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a diagnosis based on the ruling out of potential liver diseases and consolidated by establishing causality through the temporal relation between a potentially hepatotoxic substance and altered liver biochemistry. Incidence fluctuates greatly worldwide, with very few reports of causal agents of DILI in Colombia. A retrospective study on patients treated at the Centro de Estudios en Salud (CES), within the time frame of January 2015 and June 2020, was conducted to document the causal substances of DILI in patients with liver biopsy and to correlate the types of histologic patterns with the biochemical pattern of liver injury (R ratio).

RESULTS

Of the 254 adult patients with liver biopsy and no tumor etiology, 20 patients were identified as cases of DILI (7.87%). The two most frequently found causal substances were efavirenz, in three HIV-positive patients, and Moringa oleifera (moringa), in two patients. There was a statistically significant association between cholestatic patterns (p = 0.037) and mixed patterns (p = 0.031), in the comparison of the histopathologic categories and the R ratio.

CONCLUSION

To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports on DILI secondary to Moringa oleifera (moringa). The R ratio could be a useful tool, in relation to the histologic pattern of injury, in cases of mixed and cholestatic patterns.

Hepatotoxicity and Liver-Related Mortality in Women of Childbearing Potential Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus and High CD4 Cell Counts Initiating Efavirenz-Containing Regimens

BACKGROUND

Severe hepatotoxicity in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) receiving efavirenz (EFV) has been reported. We assessed the incidence and risk factors of hepatotoxicity in women of childbearing age initiating EFV-containing regimens.

METHODS

In the Promoting Maternal and Infant Survival Everywhere (PROMISE) trial, ART-naive pregnant women with HIV and CD4 count ≥ 350 cells/μL and alanine aminotransferase ≤ 2.5 the upper limit of normal were randomized during the antepartum and postpartum periods to antiretroviral therapy (ART) strategies to assess HIV vertical transmission, safety, and maternal disease progression. Hepatotoxicity was defined per the Division of AIDS Toxicity Tables. Cox proportional hazards models were constructed with covariates including participant characteristics, ART regimens, and timing of EFV initiation.

RESULTS

Among 3576 women, 2435 (68%) initiated EFV at a median 121.1 weeks post delivery. After EFV initiation, 2.5% (61/2435) had severe (grade 3 or higher) hepatotoxicity with an incidence of 2.3 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0-2.6) per 100 person-years. Events occurred between 1 and 132 weeks postpartum. Of those with severe hepatotoxicity, 8.2% (5/61) were symptomatic, and 3.3% (2/61) of those with severe hepatotoxicity died from EFV-related hepatotoxicity, 1 of whom was symptomatic. The incidence of liver-related mortality was 0.07 (95% CI, .06-.08) per 100 person-years. In multivariable analysis, older age was associated with severe hepatotoxicity (adjusted hazard ratio per 5 years, 1.35 [95% CI, 1.06-1.70]).

CONCLUSIONS

Severe hepatotoxicity after EFV initiation occurred in 2.5% of women and liver-related mortality occurred in 3% of those with severe hepatotoxicity. The occurrence of fatal events underscores the need for safer treatments for women of childbearing age.

Mechanistic insights into antiretroviral drug-induced liver injury

All classes of antiretroviral therapy (ART) have been implicated to induce adverse drug reactions such drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and immune-mediated adverse reactions in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infected individuals. Patients that develop adverse drug reactions tend to have prolonged stays in hospital and may require to change to alternative regimens if reactions persist upon rechallenge or if rechallenge is contraindicated due to severity of the adverse reaction. Diagnosis of DILI remains a huge obstacle that delays timely interventions, since it is still based largely on exclusion of other causes. There is an urgent need to develop robust diagnostic and predictive biomarkers that could be used alongside the available tools (biopsy, imaging, and serological tests for liver enzymes) to give a specific diagnosis of DILI. Crucial to this is also achieving consensus in the definition of DILI so that robust studies can be undertaken. Importantly, it is crucial that we gain deeper insights into the mechanism of DILI so that patients can receive appropriate management. In general, it has been demonstrated that the mechanism of ART-induced liver injury is driven by four main mechanisms: mitochondrial toxicity, metabolic host-mediated injury, immune reconstitution, and hypersensitivity reactions. The focus of this review is to discuss the type and phenotypes of DILI that are caused by the first line ART regimens. Furthermore, we will summarize recent studies that have elucidated the cellular and molecular mechanisms of DILI both in vivo and in vitro.

Isoniazid Preventive Therapy in HIV-Infected Pregnant and Postpartum Women

BACKGROUND

The safety, efficacy, and appropriate timing of isoniazid therapy to prevent tuberculosis in pregnant women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection who are receiving antiretroviral therapy are unknown.

METHODS

In this multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, noninferiority trial, we randomly assigned pregnant women with HIV infection to receive isoniazid preventive therapy for 28 weeks, initiated either during pregnancy (immediate group) or at week 12 after delivery (deferred group). Mothers and infants were followed through week 48 after delivery. The primary outcome was a composite of treatment-related maternal adverse events of grade 3 or higher or permanent discontinuation of the trial regimen because of toxic effects. The noninferiority margin was an upper boundary of the 95% confidence interval for the between-group difference in the rate of the primary outcome of less than 5 events per 100 person-years.

RESULTS

A total of 956 women were enrolled. A primary outcome event occurred in 72 of 477 women (15.1%) in the immediate group and in 73 of 479 (15.2%) in the deferred group (incidence rate, 15.03 and 14.93 events per 100 person-years, respectively; rate difference, 0.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], -4.77 to 4.98, which met the criterion for noninferiority). Two women in the immediate group and 4 women in the deferred group died (incidence rate, 0.40 and 0.78 per 100 person-years, respectively; rate difference, -0.39; 95% CI, -1.33 to 0.56); all deaths occurred during the postpartum period, and 4 were from liver failure (2 of the women who died from liver failure had received isoniazid [1 in each group]). Tuberculosis developed in 6 women (3 in each group); the incidence rate was 0.60 per 100 person-years in the immediate group and 0.59 per 100 person-years in the deferred group (rate difference, 0.01; 95% CI, -0.94 to 0.96). There was a higher incidence in the immediate group than in the deferred group of an event included in the composite adverse pregnancy outcome (stillbirth or spontaneous abortion, low birth weight in an infant, preterm delivery, or congenital anomalies in an infant) (23.6% vs. 17.0%; difference, 6.7 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.8 to 11.9).

CONCLUSIONS

The risks associated with initiation of isoniazid preventive therapy during pregnancy appeared to be greater than those associated with initiation of therapy during the postpartum period. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health; IMPAACT P1078 TB APPRISE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01494038.).

Drug hypersensitivity in HIV infection

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Immune-mediated adverse drug reactions (IM-ADRs) are many times more common in HIV-infected patients. Usual offending drugs include antiretroviral and antiinfectives, but the burden of specific drug IM-ADRs is population-specific; changing as new and fixed dose combinations enter the market, and drug-resistance patterns demand. This review considers recent literature on epidemiology, mechanisms, clinical management and prevention of IM-ADRs amongst persons living with HIV/AIDS.

RECENT FINDINGS

Epidemiological studies continue to describe high rates of delayed hypersensitivity to known offenders, as well as similar reactions in preexposure prophylaxis. IM-ADRs to oral and injectable integrase strand transfer inhibitors are reported with expanding use. The clinical spectrum and management of IM-ADRs occurring in HIV-infected populations is similar to uninfected; with exceptions such as a recently described severe delayed efavirenz DILI with high mortality. Furthermore, the context can be unique, such as the lower than expected mortality in a Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) cohort from a HIV/TB high burden setting. Programmatic data showing the near complete elimination of Abacavir drug hypersensitivity syndrome following implementation of HLA-B57:01 screening is a stellar example of how prevention is possible with mechanistic insight.

SUMMARY

IM-ADRs remain a challenge in persons living with HIV. The complexities posed by polypharmacy, overlapping drug toxicities, drug interactions, overlap of IM-ADRs with other diseases, limited alternative drugs, and vulnerable patients with advanced immunosuppression with high mortality, necessitate increased use of drug provocation testing, treat-through and desensitization strategies. There is an urgent need for improved diagnostics and predictive biomarkers for prevention, or to guide treat-through, rechallenge and desensitization approaches.

A closer look at the spectrum of drug-induced liver injury in sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) has become the most frequent cause of acute liver failure in high-income countries. However, little is known about the determinants of DILI in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the prescription of antimicrobials and the use of potentially hepatotoxic traditional medicine are common. Areas covered: Based on an extensive literature search, we summarize current data available on the epidemiology and risk factors of DILI in SSA. We discuss the most likely causes of DILI in the region, including antimicrobial therapies and traditional medicine. We also highlight research gaps as well as barriers to diagnosis and management of the condition, and explore ways to address these important challenges. Expert opinion: DILI is underestimated in SSA and several factors challenge its early diagnosis, including lack of information on the causes of DILI in the region, sub-optimal knowledge about the condition among clinicians, and structural difficulties faced by health care systems. In order to better prevent the occurrence of DILI and its complications, it is crucial to enhance awareness among health care providers and patients, adapt drug prescription habits and regulations, and improve current knowledge on the main risk factors for DILI, including host genetic and environmental determinants.

Efavirenz pharmacokinetics during pregnancy and infant washout

BACKGROUND

Limited data exist on efavirenz pharmacokinetics in HIV-positive pregnant women and neonatal washout.

METHODS

HIV-infected pregnant women receiving 600 mg efavirenz once daily had intensive steady-state 24-h pharmacokinetics profiles during the second trimester (2T), third trimester (3T) and 6-12 weeks postpartum (PP). Maternal and umbilical cord blood samples were drawn at delivery and neonatal washout pharmacokinetics were determined. Therapeutic targets were the estimated 10th percentile efavirenz area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) in non-pregnant historical controls (40.0 μg•h/ml) and a trough concentration (C24 h) of 1 μg/ml. Data were prospectively collected within two trials: IMPAACT P1026s (United States) and PANNA (Europe).

RESULTS

Among 42 women studied, 15, 42 and 40 had efavirenz pharmacokinetic data available in 2T, 3T and PP, respectively. Median (range) 3T age 33 (20.7-43.5) years, weight 74 (50-132) kg and gestational age 33.4 (28.4-37.9 weeks). Efavirenz AUC during the 3T (60 μg•h/ml) was similar to that reported in non-pregnant adults (58 μg•h/ml). Exposure in the 2T was lower, but within the 0.80-1.25 range. C24 concentrations during pregnancy were lower compared to historical controls on 600 mg efavirenz, however, they were similar to the C24 concentrations after equally potent dose of 400 mg efavirenz. Cord blood/maternal plasma concentration ratio (range) was 0.67 (0.36-0.95). Among 23 infants with washout data available, median (interquartile range) elimination half-life was 65.6 h (40.6-129). HIV RNA viral loads at delivery were <400 and <50 copies/ml for 96.7% and 86.7% of women, respectively. In 3T and PP, respectively, 8/41 (19%) and 6/40 (15%) had AUC below target; 7/41 (17%) and 3/39 (8%) had C24 below target.

CONCLUSIONS

Efavirenz exposure was similar during pregnancy compared with PP, C24 was in line with C24 after 400 mg equipotent efavirenz dosing. Efavirenz readily crossed the placenta and infant elimination half-life was over twice that of maternal participants. Clincaltrials.gov identifiers: NCT00825929 and NCT00042289.

Assessing the value of Western Cape Provincial Government health administrative data and electronic pharmacy records in ascertaining medicine use during pregnancy

Background

In African settings, where there is a high disease burden, there is a need to improve the science of documenting and analysing accurate information regarding medicine exposures in women immediately before and during pregnancy to assess the extent of use and safety in pregnant women and their unborn children.

Objectives

To compare evidence of medicine use during pregnancy, as documented in paper-based clinical records (maternity case records (MCRs)) against electronic health information resources (Provincial Health Data Centre (PHDC)) and assess the level of concordance between the two as part of baseline investigations before piloting a provincial pregnancy exposure registry and birth defect surveillance system. The PHDC consolidates electronic clinical and pharmacy data.

Methods

A folder review of completed pregnancies between November 2013 and January 2016 was conducted on randomly selected MCRs from midwife-run obstetric units and a secondary maternity hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Medication exposures in the MCR were captured and compared with a customised PHDC data extract. The type and timing of drug exposures were compared. Total exposures were compiled from all data sources.

Results

Two hundred and six MCRs from three facilities were sampled: 83 women had documented antiretroviral therapy (ART) exposure; all but 1 (1%) had been recorded in the PHDC extract. There was no evidence of ART use in the MCRs of 4 (5%) cases, despite evidence in the PHDC. There were imprecise drug names in the MCRs of 14 (17%) ART patients, discordant dates of onset between the MCRs and PHDC extracts in 10/83 (12%) and inaccurate medicine names and incorrect dates in 1 (1%) case each. Nine of 10 (90%) women who were administered antituberculosis medication were recorded in the PHDC extract. Ten of 21 (48%) isoniazid preventive therapy treatments appeared in the MCRs and PHDC; 9 (42%) in the PHDC only and 2 (10%) in the MCRs only. Half (n=18/36) of all antibiotic use was reflected only in the MCRs, while 13/36 (36%) appeared only in the PHDC extract. In the former cases, antibiotics used for treatment of sexually transmitted infections and urinary tract infections were dispensed from ward stock and not captured electronically. Antibiotics reflected only in the PHDC were either dispensed at a referral facility or before the first recorded antenatal clinic visit. Folic acid and iron were mostly documented in the MCR only (n=79/99 (80%) and n=107/128 (84%), respectively). However, analgesics and antihistamines more often appeared in the PHDC extract only (n=11/16 (73%) and n=5/5 (100%), respectively).

Conclusions

The PHDC extract provided a better and more complete reflection of chronic drug exposures compared with the MCRs, especially when women sought care at facilities other than the antenatal care unit where they first attended, or when exposures occurred before the initial antenatal visit. The exception was antibiotics dispensed from ward stock to treat sexually transmitted and urinary tract infections.

Patterns of efavirenz use as first-line antiretroviral therapy in the United States: 1999-2015

BACKGROUND

Efavirenz has been a mainstay of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for over 15 years in the US. Its association with neuropsychiatric side effects may influence clinical prescribing and management.

METHODS

We included HIV-infected adults enrolled in care at seven sites across the US, who initiated combination ART between 1999 and 2015. We examined the proportion initiating and continuing on efavirenz, overall and by mental health status. Log binomial and Cox models were used to estimate associations between mental health, clinical and sociodemographic characteristics and initiating or switching from efavirenz as first-line ART.

RESULTS

Of the 8,230 participants included, 3,710 (45%) initiated efavirenz. In multivariable analyses, prior mono- or dual-ART, ART initiation after 2006, being female, intravenous drug use, antidepressant prescription, previous mental health diagnosis and baseline CD4+ T-cell count >350 cells/mm3 were inversely associated with initiating efavirenz. Participants initiating efavirenz had a faster time to a regimen switch, compared with those initiating an efavirenz-free regimen (P-value <0.01). Among efavirenz initiators, starting efavirenz in more recent time periods and a previous mental health diagnosis were associated with faster time to switching from efavirenz. Despite this, 40-50% of participants with a previous mental health diagnosis initiated and continued on efavirenz for much of the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiple clinical factors, including mental health diagnoses, appeared to influence efavirenz use. While mental health diagnosis status and more recent treatment starts were associated with shorter duration of efavirenz therapy, a previous mental health diagnosis did not preclude efavirenz initiation or continuation in many participants.

Diagnosis and monitoring of HIV programmes to support treatment initiation and follow up and improve programme quality

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The HIV 'cascade of care' breaks down at several points, with delayed HIV diagnosis, late treatment initiation, or interruption, leading to new morbidity and mortality and loss of prevention effects. New approaches are needed at each step.

RECENT FINDINGS

HIV testing is still not reaching certain communities, resulting in late presentation. Creative ways to reach these communities is being explored, including with self-testing. HIV misdiagnosis is increasingly recognized as undermining testing programmes, highlighting the need for better quality control. More rapid antiretroviral initiation, even on the same day, initiation outside of health facilities, and more efficient defaulter re-initiation, may mean better retention and virological control. New antiretrovirals may address side effects responsible for poor adherence and treatment failure, as well as requiring lower adherence levels. Viral load monitoring expansion is required, but mechanisms are needed to ensure healthcare workers act on detectable results; point of care technologies may partly address this. Side-effect monitoring at a programme level is needed to characterise 'real world' effectiveness.

SUMMARY

Integrated monitoring systems, using single patient identifiers and utilizing national laboratory data systems, will allow for better characterization and interventions that limit loss to follow up, and allow better pharmacovigilance and programme performance.

Adult antiretroviral therapy guidelines 2017

These guidelines are intended as an update to those published in the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine in 2014 and the update on when to initiate antiretroviral therapy in 2015. Since the release of the previous guidelines, the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in southern Africa has continued. New antiretroviral drugs have become available with improved efficacy, safety and robustness. The guidelines are intended for countries in the southern African region, which vary between lower and middle income.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection, Antiretroviral Therapy, and Liver Pathology

The improvement in antiretroviral therapy has significantly impacted the lives of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In high-income countries, HIV deaths are predominated by liver disease consequent to viral hepatitis coinfection, alcohol, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Published liver pathology findings have shifted from being predominated by opportunistic infections to the metabolic effects of HIV and antiretroviral therapy as well as drug-induced liver injuries. Differences remain between high-income and low-income countries, where opportunistic infections and immune reconstitution syndromes, dominate findings.

Key toxicity issues with the WHO-recommended first-line antiretroviral therapy regimen

INTRODUCTION

WHO recommends tenofovir, efavirenz, and lamivudine or emtricitabine for first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in adults, which replaced more toxic regimens using stavudine, zidovudine or nevirapine. Areas covered: We searched Pubmed to identify observational studies and randomized controlled trials reporting toxicity of these antiretrovirals published between 2011 and 2016, and hand-searched abstracts presented at major HIV conferences in 2015 and 2016, focusing on data from sub-Saharan Africa. Tenofovir's nephrotoxicity manifests as mild renal tubular dysfunction (common and of uncertain clinical significance), acute kidney injury (rare), and chronic declining glomerular filtration rate (common). African studies, which include high proportions of patients with renal dysfunction from opportunistic diseases, report population improvement in renal function after starting tenofovir-based ART. Tenofovir modestly decreases bone mineral density, and there is emerging data that this increases fracture risk. Efavirenz commonly causes early self-limiting neuropsychiatric toxicity and hypersensitivity rashes. Recent studies have highlighted its long-term neuropsychiatric effects, notably suicidality and neurocognitive impairment, and metabolic toxicities (dyslipidemia, dysglycemia, and lipoatrophy). We point out the challenges clinicians face in the recognition and attribution of adverse drug reactions. Expert commentary: Tenofovir and efavirenz are generally well tolerated, but both are associated with potentially serious toxicities. Pharmacovigilance systems in resource-limited settings with high HIV burden should be strengthened.