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Highly active antiretroviral therapy

Efficacy and Safety of Antiretroviral Treatments in HIV/AIDS Patients

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

New research on immune system diseases and conditions reveals that antiretroviral treatments have varying efficacy and safety profiles in patients with late diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. The study, conducted in Berlin, Germany, compared the outcomes of patients starting first-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) with either dolutegravir/lamivudine (DTG/3TC) or bictegravir/tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (BIC/TAF/FTC). The results showed that while both treatments were effective in reducing viral load, the relatively small sample size and study design limitations prevented establishing a causal inference.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of first-line ART with DTG/3TC versus BIC/TAF/FTC in patients with low CD4 cell counts and/or AIDS-defining diseases.
  • The research involved a retrospective, multicentre, multinational analysis of patients starting first-line ART with a CD4 cell count.
  • The study found that both DTG/3TC and BIC/TAF/FTC were effective in reducing viral load, but the sample size and study design limitations meant that the results should be interpreted with caution.
  • The research suggested that prospective studies are needed to further investigate the topic and establish a causal inference.
  • The study included a total of 234 participants, with a mean age of 44.5 years and a median CD4 cell count of 160 cells/μL.
  • The researchers noted that the study had several limitations, including the small sample size and the possibility of biases in the study design.

Statistics:

  • The study involved 234 participants, with a mean age of 44.5 years.
  • The median CD4 cell count was 160 cells/μL.
  • The viability of both treatments was similar, with 85.7% of the DTG/3TC group and 88.9% of the BIC/TAF/FTC group achieving viral suppression.
  • The median time to viral suppression was 24.5 months in the DTG/3TC group and 31.5 months in the BIC/TAF/FTC group.

Sources:

  • Antiretroviral treatment in people living with HIV with late diagnosis initiating ART with DTG/3TC or BIC/TAF/FTC: A real-world cohort analysis, HIV Medicine, 2025.

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