Liver damage associated with hepatitis C (HCV) may influence the likelihood of experiencing discontinuation due to toxicities or patient/physician choice (TOXPC) in patients taking combination ...antiretroviral therapy (cART). Little information to address this concern is available from clinical trials as patients with HCV are often excluded.
To compare incidence rates of discontinuation due to TOXPC associated with specific antiretrovial drugs in patients with or without HCV.
A total of 4929 patients from EuroSIDA under follow-up from January 1999 on a specific nucleoside pair (zidovudine/lamivudine, didanosine/stavudine, stavudine/lamivudine, or other) with a third drug (abacavir, nelfinavir, indinavir, nevirapine, efavirenz, lopinavir/ritonavir or other boosted-protease inhibitor (PI)-containing regimen) and with known HCV serostatus were studied for the incidence of discontinuation of any nucleoside pair or third drug due to TOXPC. Incidence rate ratios were derived from Poisson regression models.
In total 1358 patients had HCV (27.5%). During 12 799 person-years of follow-up there were 2141 discontinuations due to TOXPC for nucleoside pairs and 2501 for third drugs. The incidence of discontinuation due to TOXPC was consistently higher in patients with HCV after stratification by nucleoside pair or third drug. After adjustment for CD4+ count, gender, exposure group, time on HAART, region and treatment regimen, there were few differences in the rate of discontinuation due to TOXPC in those with HCV compared with those without for any nucleoside pairs or third drugs. Similar results were seen when concentrating on discontinuation due to toxicities alone.
Although patients with HCV generally had higher rates of discontinuation due to TOXPC compared with patients without HCV, there was little evidence to suggest that this was associated with any specific nucleoside pair or third drug used as part of cART. Our results do not suggest that any specific component of cART is more poorly tolerated in patients with HCV or that the presence of HCV should influence the choice between antiretrovirals used as part of a cART regimen.
A 60‐year‐old male had tested in 1986, at age 46, positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In mid‐1996 he was started on a protease inhibitor regimen, which included indinavir, lamivudine and ...stavudine, and remained on this therapy until his death. In April 1999 he was hospitalized after a fainting episode. Although examination focusing on cardiac disease did not disclose any remarkable findings, he died suddenly one week after being discharged from hospital. At autopsy the kidneys were enlarged, with a total weight of 500 g, patchy pale gray and pinkish. Microscopy showed leukocytic cell casts in many of the tubules and collecting ducts. In many of these casts there were clefts left by crystals. In the interstitium, both in the cortex and the medulla, there was focal inflammation and fibrosis. Death was attributed to sudden cardiac dysfunction, probably ventricular fibrillation as a consequence of severe nephropathy with electrolyte disturbances. It is likely that kidney damage developed secondary to the indinavir treatment as indinavir can cause not only nephrolithiasis but also crystal‐induced acute renal failure.
We collected information on the development of clinical signs and laboratory results from a cohort of 58 people infected with HIV through blood transfusion. The observation time ranged from 36 to 100 ...months. Belonging to the older age group at the time of transfusion was found to be an important factor for rapid progression to AIDS. Sex or physical health at the time of transfusion did not influence the latency period.
During the years 1997-2001 there were 1213 cases of HIV reported in Sweden. By using a questionnaire sent to respective clinics, additional information was obtained for 1018 patents. The transmission ...routes were: 28 per cent homosexual, 65 per cent heterosexual, 10 per cent intravenous drug abuse, 1 per cent blood transfusion (none in Sweden) and 6 per cent other/unknown. 61 per cent of men infected by sex with men had contracted their infection in Sweden whilst this was true for 14 per cent of heterosexually infected men and 20 per cent of heterosexually infected women. Instead many with heterosexually transmitted infections had been infected in Africa or Asia where in many cases the patients also originated from. In 15 per cent of cases the HIV infection was detected in conjunction with a diagnosis of aids. Partner notification led to at least 0.12 (127/1018) new cases per index case.
A 60-year-old male had tested in 1986, at age 46, positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In mid-1996 he was started on a protease inhibitor regimen, which included indinavir, lamivudine and ...stavudine, and remained on this therapy until his death. In April 1999 he was hospitalized after a fainting episode. Although examination focusing on cardiac disease did not disclose any remarkable findings, he died suddenly one week after being discharged from hospital. At autopsy the kidneys were enlarged, with a total weight of 500 g, patchy pale gray and pinkish. Microscopy showed leukocytic cell casts in many of the tubules and collecting ducts. In many of these casts there were clefts left by crystals. In the interstitium, both in the cortex and the medulla, there was focal inflammation and fibrosis. Death was attributed to sudden cardiac dysfunction, probably ventricular fibrillation as a consequence of severe nephropathy with electrolyte disturbances. It is likely that kidney damage developed secondary to the indinavir treatment as indinavir can cause not only nephrolithiasis but also crystal-induced acute renal failure.
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