Viral Blips Less Likely In Patients Who Initiated ART Up To Two Years After HIV Onset, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/21, Nye) reports a study found that “the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) within 2 years of HIV acquisition is associated with reduced risk for viral blips, indicating reservoir plasticity may extend past the acute disease phase, as well as the possibility of a smaller reservoir size.” Compared with those who experienced no viral blips, researchers said “the subset of patients with viral blips were older at ART initiation (median, 34.9 vs 31.6 years), exhibited a longer time period from HIV acquisition to ART initiation (median, 33.9 vs 16.6 months), had lower rates of NNRTI use (28.4% vs 46.6%), and showed worse ART adherence.” They concluded, “Our findings suggest that the window of opportunity to intervene with ART and achieve a beneficial effect in preventing blips may extend to two years after HIV acquisition.” The study was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.