title: The 48-week efficacy of once-daily saquinavir/ritonavir in patients with undetectable viral load after 3 years of antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the efficacy and safety of once-daily saquinavir-soft-gel-capsules/ritonavir (SQV-SGC/RTV) 1600 mg/100 mg plus dual nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) in HIV-infected patients with plasma viral load (pVL) <50 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL following 3 years of antiretroviral therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 69 patients with pVL <50 copies/mL after 162 weeks of antiretroviral treatment started SQV-SGC/RTV 1600 mg/100 mg once-daily while continuing dual NRTIs. Previous treatment consisted of 66 weeks of treatment with a half/full dose of zidovudine (ZDV)/zalcitabine (ddC), followed by 2 years of SQV-SGC twice a day (bid) plus ZDV/lamivudine (3TC) or didanosine (ddI)/stavudine (d4T). Efficacy (pVL), safety and immunological changes (CD4 cell counts) were evaluated after 48 weeks in this open-label, single-arm prospective study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SQV-SGC/RTV once-daily was well tolerated. No patient changed regimens or was lost to follow-up. After 48 weeks, 63 of 69 patients (91%) had pVL <50 copies/mL (five of the six remaining patients had pVL <400 copies/mL, and one patient had an unexplained rise to 39 500 copies/mL, which decreased to <50 copies/mL 12 weeks later). Median CD4 count increased from 534 cells/muL at the start of the SQV-SGC/RTV once-daily treatment to 664 cells/muL (P<0.001). Compared to the preceding 48 weeks on bid SQV-SGC, the CD4 cell count improved significantly on once-daily SQV-SGC/RTV (P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data support the use of SQV-SGC/RTV 1600 mg/100 mg once-daily with two NRTIs as a convenient, safe and cost-saving regimen to maintain viral suppression and CD4 counts for 48 weeks in this preselected cohort on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with pVL <50 copies/mL. The CD4 count rise may be a result of continued immune reconstitution in patients with well-controlled infection.
authors.affiliation: The HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaborative (HIVNAT), The Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center, Bangkok, Thailand. Peter.Cardiello@post.harvard.edu
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cardiello
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Srasuebkul
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hassink
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahanontharit
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Samor
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ruxrungtham
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Phanuphak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019438:Ritonavir / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019258:Saquinavir / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D012367:RNA, Viral; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D014280:Triglycerides; D019258:Saquinavir; D019438:Ritonavir