title: Efficacy and safety of abacavir plus lamivudine versus didanosine plus stavudine when combined with a protease inhibitor, a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or both in HIV-1 positive antiretroviral-naive persons.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The combination of abacavir + lamivudine (ABC+3TC) versus didanosine + stavudine (ddI+d4T), each combined with other classes of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in ARV-naive patients, was compared for the combined endpoint of time to plasma HIV RNA >50 copies/mL (at or after the 8-month visit) or death (primary endpoint) in a nested substudy of an ongoing multicenter randomized trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  The substudy enrolled 182 patients; mean HIV RNA and CD4+ cell counts at baseline were 5.1 log10 copies/mL and 212 cells/mm3, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After a median follow-up of 28 months, rates of primary endpoint were 57.2 and 67.8 per 100 person-years for the ABC+3TC and ddI+d4T groups (hazard ratio [HR]=0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58-1.14, p=.23).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a trend for treatments containing ABC+3TC to be better than treatments containing ddI+d4T with respect to HIV RNA decreases, CD4+ cell count increases, and tolerability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. rmacarthur@med.wayne.edu
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: MacArthur
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van den Berg-Wolf
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kozal
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Besch
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yurik
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmetter
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Henley
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dehlinger
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016049:Didanosine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015224:Dideoxynucleosides / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D019259:Lamivudine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018119:Stavudine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000099227:Abacavir
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D016049:Didanosine; D015224:Dideoxynucleosides; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D019259:Lamivudine; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D018119:Stavudine; D000099227:Abacavir