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IntroductionPatient preference to antiretroviral therapy (ART) characteristics should be a key consideration in treatment decisions. ART options exist for people living with HIV (PLWH), however concerns remain related to PLWH satisfaction with current ARTs. The current study examines patient preferences and the strength of preferences for treatment characteristics associated with ART.Materials and MethodsPatients’ preferences to ART were explored using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Seven defined treatment characteristics (each with three categories) were identified from a literature review, input from experts, PLWH and physicians. A total of 1582 PLWH from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK were recruited for the study. An adjusted odds ratio <1 signified lower odds of selecting a treatment with this characteristic category, compared to the reference category, independently of other characteristics.ResultsThe patient preference analyses showed that participants preferred treatments with a rapid reduction in viral load (OR=0.78; 95% CI 0.74–0.81) and CD4 count (OR=0.86; 95% CI=0.82–0.89). Participants had a strong preference for avoiding diarrhoea (Odds ratio, OR=0.36 95% CI=0.33–0.38) and long term health problems (OR=0.30, 95% CI=0.28–0.32). Convenience related issues related to restrictions on taking drugs because of food or drug interactions were important to avoid (OR=0.80, 95% CI=0.76–0.83 and OR=0.72 95% CI=0.69–0.76 respectively). Participants also had a strong preference to avoid drugs which limited the effectiveness of future treatments (OR=0.70, 95% CI=0.67–0.73).ConclusionsAvoidance of diarrhoea and long-term complications were the most important drivers of patient choice. This study, from a large sample of European patients, demonstrates the importance to patients when different aspects of HIV treatment are considered simultaneously.

Our objective was to assess, in the clinical setting, the predictors of immune reconstitution (IR) and its relation with long-term clinical benefit, in HIV patients with advanced disease after highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) through an observational study. A retrospective cohort study in a clinical setting of 383 consecutive adult patients with advanced HIV infection (CD4+ cells <200/mm(3) at baseline), starting their first protease inhibitor (PI)-containing regimen was observed. Immune reconstitution was defined as CD4 count >200 cells/mm(3) and an increase > or =100 cells from baseline, anytime since starting HAART. Clinical benefit was defined as decreased mortality and reduction in AIDS-defining events, AIDS-related complex (ARC) events, major infections and hospitalization (days spent in hospital). During a mean follow-up of 808 days, 261 patients (68.1%) achieved IR. About 50% of these patients reached this result within one year after starting HAART. In multivariate analysis, predictors of immune recovery were sex (female) and baseline CD4 count higher than 50 cells/mm(3). The group of patients with IR had greater clinical benefit with lower mortality, fewer AIDS-defining events, shorter lengths of stay in hospital, fewer ARC events and fewer major infections during all the follow-up (P < 0.0001, tests for trends). However, although they did less remarkably than the first group of patients, even those patients who did not achieve IR experienced a significant decrease in the incidence of all the above events, as compared with the first and sometimes the second trimester after starting their HIV therapy. About 70% of HIV patients with advanced disease achieved IR after starting HAART. Such a benefit is a time-dependent effect and may even take more than 2 years to occur. Predictors of IR were sex (female) and higher baseline CD4 count (>50 cells/mm(3)). The patients who achieved immune recovery performed clinically better than patients who did not. Also the patients who failed to gain such a strong immunological recovery experienced a long-term clinical benefit. This suggests that PI-containing regimens, in advanced HIV disease, may produce a significant clinical benefit, at least temporary, even for patients who do not achieve a substantial immune response.

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of Gabapentin as the sole analgesic in patients with HIV-related painful neuropathy. Nineteen patients with HIV-related painful neuropathy were administered Gabapentin. Efficacy was evaluated with two 100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) (0: no symptom; 100: worst symptom), rating pain and interference of pain with sleep, performed at baseline and monthly intervals. Main Pain VAS score decreased from a baseline of 55.7 +/- 19.1 mm to a final 14.7 +/- 18.6 mm (ANOVA P = 0.0001) and mean Sleep Interference VAS score decreased from a baseline of 60.4 +/- 31.9 mm to a final 15.5 +/- 27.7 mm (ANOVA P = 0.0001). Gabapentin provided significant pain relief in our patients with HIV-associated painful sensory neuropathy.

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