The use of and response to second-line protease inhibitor regimens: results from the EuroSIDA study

Abstract

To describe the use of second line protease-inhibitor (PI) regimens across Europe and to determine factors associated with virological and immunological response. Analysis of data from 984 patients with a median follow-up of 21 months enrolled in EuroSIDA. Patients started their second PI-containing regimen at least 16 weeks after starting the first PI-containing regimen and with viral load > 1000 copies/ml. Virological response was defined as a viral load 6 The median CD4 cell count at starting the second PI was 171 × 106 cells/l; viral load was 4.45 log copies/ml. As a second PI regimen, 45% were using a dual PI, while of those on one PI, indinavir (42%) and nelfinavir (34%) were most common. In multivariate Cox models, a higher viral load at starting the second PI [relative hazard (RH), 0.67 per 1 log higher; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.58–0.77;P P Patients who initiate a second PI regimen at lower viral load, higher CD4 cell count or who added new nucleosides tended to be more likely to achieve a viral load