The impact of transient cART in early HIV infection on viral suppression and immunologic response in later treatment. AIDS
Pantazis et al. on behalf of CASCADE in EuroCoord assessed if transient combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) administered during early HIV infection (EHI) has any effect on response to cART reinitiated during chronic HIV infection (CHI). Of 4465 individuals, 202 received transient cART during EHI and restarted cART in CHI, and 4263 started cART during CHI, respectively. Both groups had similar virologic response and relapse rates but pretreated individuals restarted treatment with higher baseline CD4+ cell count (~80 cells/ml). Duration of transient cART in EHI and its timing relative to estimated seroconversion did not appear to have any significant effect on virologic or immunologic outcome of long-term cART in CHI.
In conclusion, although treatment interruptions are not recommended, stopping cART initiated in EHI does not seem to reduce the chance of a successful outcome of treatment in CHI.