Results from a small cohort study suggest that resistance may emerge.
Integrase inhibitor–based regimens have become increasingly popular for both treatment-naive and treatment-experienced HIV-infected patients. However, little is known about the consequences of their continued long-term use in patients with incomplete virologic suppression.
To address this gap, researchers followed 29 treatment-experienced patients who continued to receive an integrase inhibitor–based regimen despite failing to maintain a fully suppressed viral load. Twenty-three patients were receiving raltegravir; six were receiving elvitegravir.
At the time of initial virologic failure, median viral load was 4.4 log copies/mL, and the most common integrase genotype was wild-type (seen in 52% of patients). For patients on raltegravir, the mo…