Can NRTIs Be Omitted from Antiretroviral Therapy for Treatment-Experienced Patients Failing Therapy?

Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are typically part of an antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimen for HIV-infected, treatment-experienced patients, even in the presence of NRTI resistance despite the fact that robust data supporting this approach is lacking. Newer antiretroviral agents often allow the construction of active ART regimens without the inclusion of NRTIs. Does omitting NRTIs from a well-constructed ART regimen affect treatment outcomes in treatment-experienced patients who have NRTI resistance?

To find out, researchers conducted an open-label randomized trial involving 360 HIV-infected persons experiencing virologic failure on protease inhibitor–based ART for whom a sufficiently active NRTI-sparing A…