Background: Etravirine (ETR) was approved for patients with virological failure and antiretroviral resistance mutations. It has also shown antiviral efficacy in antiretroviral-naïve patients. However, data on the switching from protease inhibitors (PI) to ETR are lacking.
Methods: HIV-1-infected patients with suppressed viral load (VL) during a PI-containing regimen (>12 months) and no previous virological failure were randomized to switch from the PI to ETR (400 mg/day, dissolved in water) (ETR group, n = 22) or to continue with the same regimen (control group, n = 21). Percentage of patients with VL ≤ 50 copies/mL were assessed at week 48, as well as changes in CD4 T-cell counts and metabolic profile.
Results: We included 43 patients [72.9% male, 46.3 (42.2; 50.6) years]. Two patients receiving ETR (grade-1 diarrhea and voluntary discontinuation) and another in the control group (simplification) discontinued therapy early. No patients presented virological failure (two consecutive VL>50 copies/mL); treatment was successful in 95.2% of the control group and 90.9% of the ETR group (intention-to-treat analysis, missing = failure) (p = 0.58). CD4+ T-cell counts did not significantly vary [+49 cells/µL in the ETR group (p = 0.25) and -4 cells/µL in the control group (p = 0.71)]. The ETR group showed significant reductions in cholesterol (p<0.001), triglycerides (p = <0.001), and glycemia (p = 0.03) and higher satisfaction (0-10 scale) (p = 0.04). Trough plasma concentrations of ETR were similar to observed in studies using ETR twice daily.
Conclusion: Switch from a PI-based regimen to a once-daily combination based on ETR maintained undetectable VL during 48 weeks in virologically suppressed HIV-infected patients while lipid profile and patient satisfaction improved significantly.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01034917.