Assessment of drug-drug interaction in an elderly human immunodeficiency virus population: Comparison of 3 expert databases

An overview of multimorbidity and polypharmacy in older people living with HIV

The availability of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) has revolutionized the care of people living with HIV (PLHIV). As a result, PLHIV now have a life expectancy comparable with that of the general population. PLHIV are increasingly confronted with age-related comorbidities and geriatric syndromes, including frailty and polypharmacy, which occur at a higher prevalence and set in at an earlier age compared with their uninfected counterparts. The underlying pathophysiology for multimorbidity and polypharmacy are multifactorial, multidimensional and complex. Therefore, regular review and optimization of risk factors to maintain physical function, social and psychological health is of utmost importance. With an ever-growing population of older PLHIV, there is a pressing need to provide holistic care to address these emerging issues. Accelerated aging observed in PLHIV suggests that early involvement of a multidisciplinary team, including geriatricians, and implementation of integrated models of care can potentially improve the care of older PLHIV, who are at increased risk of frailty and complex multimorbidity. This article reviews the current global situation, discusses the challenges involved and suggests approaches to deliver comprehensive care for older PLHIV. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 49-59.

Prevalence of Potentially Clinically Significant Drug-Drug Interactions With Antiretrovirals Against HIV Over Three Decades: A Systematic Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND

Contemporary first-line antiretrovirals have considerably reduced liability for clinically significant drug-drug interactions (DDI). This systematic review evaluates the prevalence of DDI among people receiving antiretrovirals across 3 decades.

METHODS

We searched 3 databases for studies reporting the prevalence of clinically significant DDIs in patients receiving antiretrovirals published between January 1987 and July 2022. Clinically significant DDIs were graded by severity. All data extractions were undertaken by 2 independent reviewers, adjudicated by a third.

RESULTS

Of 21,665 records returned, 13,474 were duplicates. After screening the remaining 13,596 abstracts against inclusion criteria, 122 articles were included for full-text analysis, from which a final list of 34 articles were included for data synthesis. The proportion of patients experiencing a clinically significant DDI did not change over time (P = 0.072). The most frequently reported classes of antiretrovirals involved in DDIs were protease inhibitors and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors; of note, integrase use in the most recent studies was highly variable and ranged between 0% and 89%.

CONCLUSIONS

The absolute risk of DDIs has not decreased over the period covered. This is likely related to continued use of older regimens and an ageing cohort of patients. A greater reduction in DDI prevalence can be anticipated with broader uptake of regimens containing unboosted integrase inhibitors or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

Antiretroviral drug-drug interactions: A comparison of online drug interaction databases

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE

Antiretrovirals have a high drug interaction potential, which can lead to increased toxicity and/or decreased efficacy. Multiple databases are available to assess drug-drug interactions. The aim of our study was to compare interaction identification for commonly used ARVs and concomitant medications between six different online drug-drug interaction databases.

COMMENT

This was a cross-sectional review using each of the following six databases: LexiComp®, Clinical Pharmacology®, Micromedex®, Epocrates®, University of Liverpool, and University of Toronto. Sixteen antiretroviral drugs and 100 of the DrugStats Database "Top 200 of 2019" list of medications were included. Each of the six databases identified a different number of actual or potential interactions. The number of interactions ranged from 211 to 283.

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSIONS

A variety of databases exist with inconsistent identification of actual or potential drug-drug interactions amongst them. It may be beneficial to cross-reference multiple databases prior to making decisions regarding patient care.

Cardiovascular risks associated with protease inhibitors for the treatment of HIV

Introduction: Cumulative use of some first-generation protease inhibitors has been associated with higher rates of dyslipidemia and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The protease inhibitors most commonly in use are atazanavir and darunavir, which have fewer detrimental lipid effects and greater tolerability. This paper aims to review the evidence of a potential association of these contemporary protease inhibitors with the risk of ischemic CVD and atherosclerotic markers.Areas covered: We searched for publications of randomized trials and observational studies on PubMed from 1 January 2000 onwards, using search terms including: protease inhibitors; darunavir; atazanavir; cardiovascular disease; cardiovascular events; dyslipidemia; mortality; carotid intima media thickness; arterial elasticity; arterial stiffness and drug discontinuation. Ongoing studies registered on clinicaltrials.gov as well as conference abstracts from major HIV conferences from 2015-2020 were also searched.Expert opinion: Atazanavir and darunavir are no longer part of first-line HIV treatment, but continue to be recommended as alternative first line, second- and third-line regimens, as part of two drug regimens, and darunavir is used as salvage therapy. Although these drugs will likely remain in use globally for several years to come, baseline CVD risk should be considered when considering their use, especially as the population with HIV ages.

Higher plasma drug levels in elderly people living with HIV treated with darunavir

Background

The proportion of elderly people living with HIV-1 (PLHIV) is rising. In older patients, comorbidities and concomitant medications are more frequent, increasing the risk of potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs). Data on the pharmacokinetics of ART in individuals aged ≥ 65 years of age are scarce. We compared plasma drug levels of ART, PDDIs, and side-effects in PLHIV aged ≥ 65 years of age, with controls ≤ 49 years of age.

Methods

Patients ≥ 65 years of age and controls ≤ 49 years of age, all of whom were on stable treatment with atazanavir (ATV), darunavir (DRV), or efavirenz (EFV) were included cross-sectionally. Plasma drug levels of ART were analyzed, comorbidities, concomitant medication, adherence, and side-effects recorded, and PDDIs analyzed using drug interactions databases.

Results

Between 2013 and 2015, we included 100 individuals ≥ 65 years of age (study group) and 99 controls (≤ 49 years of age). Steady-state DRV concentrations were significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (p = 0.047). In the ATV group there was a trend towards a significant difference (p = 0.056). No significant differences were found in the EFV arm. The DRV arm had a higher frequency of reported side-effects than the ATV and EFV arms in the study group (36.7% vs. 0% and 23.8% respectively (p = 0.014), with significant differences between DRV vs. ATV, and EFV vs. ATV).

Conclusions

Higher steady-state plasma levels of DRV and ATV (but not EFV) were found in PLHIV aged ≥ 65 years of age, compared to controls ≤ 49 years of age.