Low-Level Viremia Predicts Virological Failure in HIV-Infected Omani Patients Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy. 2020

Zied Gaifer, and Mohamed-Rachid Boulassel
Department of Medicine, 48039National Guard Hospital, Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The implication and clinical significance of low-level viremia (LLV) in HIV patients are still not clear. This study aimed to characterize the clinical outcomes and to evaluate whether LLV could predict future virological failure in a well-defined cohort of HIV-infected Omani patients attending a large HIV clinic. Patients on regular antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 12 months, and had at least 2 HIV RNA measurements 1 year after starting ART, were prospectively enrolled in a cohort study. LLV was defined as plasma HIV RNA between 50-200 copies/mL that persists after at least 2 consecutive measurements after 12 months of ART. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to measure the association among virological failure, LLV and potential predictors. After 12 months of starting ART, 60 patients (40%) had undetectable viral load (UVL) < 50 copies/mL, while 37 patients (24%) had LLV and 53 patients (35%) had primary virological failure > 200 copies/mL. The incidence rates of subsequent secondary virological failure for UVL and LLV groups, were 3 and 7 cases per 1000 patient-months, respectively. Compared to UVL group, LLV group had increased risk of subsequent secondary virological failure with hazard ratio of (4.437 [95% CI, 1.26-15.55]; p = 0.02). Age, duration of HIV infection, pretreatment HIV RNA level, pretreatment CD4+ cell count, and ART adherent were associated with subsequent secondary virological failure. Collectively, Omani HIV patients with LLV were at a higher risk for HIV virological failure, and should be monitored closely. Further studies are need to assess whether ART modification in LLV patients would lower the risk of virological failure.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly
D012367 RNA, Viral Ribonucleic acid that makes up the genetic material of viruses. Viral RNA
D014766 Viremia The presence of viruses in the blood. Viremias
D015331 Cohort Studies Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics. Birth Cohort Studies,Birth Cohort Study,Closed Cohort Studies,Cohort Analysis,Concurrent Studies,Historical Cohort Studies,Incidence Studies,Analysis, Cohort,Cohort Studies, Closed,Cohort Studies, Historical,Studies, Closed Cohort,Studies, Concurrent,Studies, Historical Cohort,Analyses, Cohort,Closed Cohort Study,Cohort Analyses,Cohort Studies, Birth,Cohort Study,Cohort Study, Birth,Cohort Study, Closed,Cohort Study, Historical,Concurrent Study,Historical Cohort Study,Incidence Study,Studies, Birth Cohort,Studies, Cohort,Studies, Incidence,Study, Birth Cohort,Study, Closed Cohort,Study, Cohort,Study, Concurrent,Study, Historical Cohort,Study, Incidence
D015658 HIV Infections Includes the spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus infections that range from asymptomatic seropositivity, thru AIDS-related complex (ARC), to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HTLV-III Infections,HTLV-III-LAV Infections,T-Lymphotropic Virus Type III Infections, Human,HIV Coinfection,Coinfection, HIV,Coinfections, HIV,HIV Coinfections,HIV Infection,HTLV III Infections,HTLV III LAV Infections,HTLV-III Infection,HTLV-III-LAV Infection,Infection, HIV,Infection, HTLV-III,Infection, HTLV-III-LAV,Infections, HIV,Infections, HTLV-III,Infections, HTLV-III-LAV,T Lymphotropic Virus Type III Infections, Human

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