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Early antiretroviral treatment of infants to attain HIV remission.

ABSTRACT: Background:Studies in adults and children suggested that starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) soon after infection positively influences early events in HIV infection raising the possibility that remission may be achieved in some. Methods:We designed an analytic treatment interruption (ATI) trial to test the hypothesis that a sizable minority of HIV-infected neonates who initiated ART <14 days of birth and maintained on ART would be able to maintain viral suppression when ART was withdrawn. To yield the target cohort for this trial, 73 HIV-infected neonates identified at one hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, were initiated on ART <14 days of birth and maintained on ART tracking viral load (VL) decline and immune recovery (clinicaltrials.gov # NCT02431975). Findings:Three HIV-infected infants (4.1%) died and nine (12.3%) were lost to follow-up before 48 weeks of age. Of those surviving on study, 52.5% attained and sustained VL <50 copies/ml and half of these sustained CD4+ T-cell percentage >30% which were the primary entry criteria for the ATI trial. Proportions achieving ATI eligibility criteria were similar in the 46 infants starting ART <48 h (19.6%) to 27 infants starting 2-14 days (25.9%) (p = 0.567). Interpretation:Very early ART on its own, using regimens available when the trial was designed, is insufficient to attain minimum entry criteria needed to justify our trial of ART interruption. Decisions about how quickly to start ART should be based on optimizing standard clinical outcomes rather than with the expectation that remission can be attained. Funding:NICHD/NIAID (U01HD080441), South African Research Chairs Initiative of DST and NRF (South Africa).

SUBMITTER: Kuhn L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6978195 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Early antiretroviral treatment of infants to attain HIV remission.

Kuhn Louise L Strehlau Renate R Shiau Stephanie S Patel Faeezah F Shen Yanhan Y Technau Karl-Günter KG Burke Megan M Sherman Gayle G Coovadia Ashraf A Aldrovandi Grace M GM Hazra Rohan R Tsai Wei-Yann WY Tiemessen Caroline T CT Abrams Elaine J EJ

EClinicalMedicine 20200107

<h4>Background</h4>Studies in adults and children suggested that starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) soon after infection positively influences early events in HIV infection raising the possibility that remission may be achieved in some.<h4>Methods</h4>We designed an analytic treatment interruption (ATI) trial to test the hypothesis that a sizable minority of HIV-infected neonates who initiated ART <14 days of birth and maintained on ART would be able to maintain viral suppression when ART was ...[more]

PMID: 31993578

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Project description:BackgroundIn countries with a high seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), HIV infection contributes significantly to infant mortality. We investigated antiretroviral-treatment strategies in the Children with HIV Early Antiretroviral Therapy (CHER) trial.MethodsHIV-infected infants 6 to 12 weeks of age with a CD4 lymphocyte percentage (the CD4 percentage) of 25% or more were randomly assigned to receive antiretroviral therapy (lopinavir-ritonavir, zidovudine, and lamivudine) when the CD4 percentage decreased to less than 20% (or 25% if the child was younger than 1 year) or clinical criteria were met (the deferred antiretroviral-therapy group) or to immediate initiation of limited antiretroviral therapy until 1 year of age or 2 years of age (the early antiretroviral-therapy groups). We report the early outcomes for infants who received deferred antiretroviral therapy as compared with early antiretroviral therapy.ResultsAt a median age of 7.4 weeks (interquartile range, 6.6 to 8.9) and a CD4 percentage of 35.2% (interquartile range, 29.1 to 41.2), 125 infants were randomly assigned to receive deferred therapy, and 252 infants were randomly assigned to receive early therapy. After a median follow-up of 40 weeks (interquartile range, 24 to 58), antiretroviral therapy was initiated in 66% of infants in the deferred-therapy group. Twenty infants in the deferred-therapy group (16%) died versus 10 infants in the early-therapy groups (4%) (hazard ratio for death, 0.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.11 to 0.51; P<0.001). In 32 infants in the deferred-therapy group (26%) versus 16 infants in the early-therapy groups (6%), disease progressed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stage C or severe stage B (hazard ratio for disease progression, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.41; P<0.001). Stavudine was substituted for zidovudine in four infants in the early-therapy groups because of neutropenia in three infants and anemia in one infant; no drugs were permanently discontinued. After a review by the data and safety monitoring board, the deferred-therapy group was modified, and infants in this group were all reassessed for initiation of antiretroviral therapy.ConclusionsEarly HIV diagnosis and early antiretroviral therapy reduced early infant mortality by 76% and HIV progression by 75%. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00102960.)

Project description:BackgroundInterim results from the children with HIV early antiretroviral (CHER) trial showed that early antiretroviral therapy (ART) was life-saving for infants infected with HIV. In view of the few treatment options and the potential toxicity associated with lifelong ART, in the CHER trial we compared early time-limited ART with deferred ART.MethodsCHER was an open-label randomised controlled trial of HIV-infected asymptomatic infants younger than 12 weeks in two South African trial sites with a percentage of CD4-positive T lymphocytes (CD4%) of 25% or higher. 377 infants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: deferred ART (ART-Def), immediate ART for 40 weeks (ART-40W), or immediate ART for 96 weeks (ART-96W), with subsequent treatment interruption. The randomisation schedule was stratified by clinical site with permuted blocks of random sizes to balance the numbers of infants allocated to each group. Criteria for ART initiation in the ART-Def group and re-initiation after interruption in the other groups were CD4% less than 25% in infancy; otherwise, the criteria were CD4% less than 20% or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention severe stage B or stage C disease. Combination therapy of lopinavir-ritonavir, zidovudine, and lamivudine was the first-line treatment regimen at ART initiation and re-initiation. The primary endpoint was time to failure of first-line ART (immunological, clinical, or virological) or death. Comparisons were done by intention-to-treat analysis, with use of time-to-event methods. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00102960.Findings377 infants were enrolled, with a median age of 7·4 weeks, CD4% of 35%, and HIV RNA log 5·7 copies per mL. Median follow-up was 4·8 years; 34 infants (9%) were lost to follow-up. Median time to ART initiation in the ART-Def group was 20 weeks (IQR 16-25). Time to restarting of ART after interruption was 33 weeks (26-45) in ART-40W and 70 weeks (35-109) in ART-96W; at the end of the trial, 19% of patients in ART-40W and 32% of patients in ART-96W remained off ART. Proportions of follow-up time spent on ART were 81% in the ART-Def group, 70% in the ART-40W group, and 69% in the ART-96W group. 48 (38%) of 125 children in the ART-Def group, 32 (25%) of 126 in the ART-40W group, and 26 (21%) of 126 in the ART-96W group reached the primary endpoint. The hazard ratio, relative to ART-Def, was 0·59 (95% CI 0·38-0·93, p=0·02) for ART-40W and 0·47 (0·27-0·76, p=0·002) for ART-96W. Three children in ART-Def, three in ART-40W, and one in ART-96W switched to second-line ART.InterpretationEarly time-limited ART had better clinical and immunological outcomes than deferred ART, with no evidence of excess disease progression during subsequent treatment interruption and less overall ART exposure than deferred ART. Longer time on primary ART permits longer subsequent interruption, with marginally better outcomes.FundingUS National Institutes of Health.

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Early antiretroviral treatment of infants to attain HIV remission.

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Early antiretroviral treatment of infants to attain HIV remission.

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