Antiretroviral Therapy Resistance Associated With Lower CD4+ Count, Greater Hospitalization Frequency Among Patients With HIV, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (7/30, Nye) reports a study found that “detectable resistance to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in individuals with HIV infection is associated with lower CD4+ count, increased risk for opportunistic infections, higher economic burden, and greater hospitalization frequency.” Researchers observed that “patients with detectable RAMs or major RAMs had significantly lower rates of HIV viral suppression when compared with those with no ART resistance (4.2% and 2.0% vs 13.9%, respectively). They also had significantly lower median CD4+ counts within 60 days of index resistance testing, as well as significantly higher rates of CD4+ counts below 200 cells/mm3. Further analysis showed opportunistic infections were significantly more common among patients with any RAMs than in those without RAMs.” Patients without detectable ART resistance also “showed lower rates of hospital admission relative to those with any or major RAMs.” The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.