Mortality rates in HIV-infected patients with second failure of antiretroviral therapy are still high: a lesson from NA-ACCORD

Abstract

Evaluation of: Deeks SG, Gange SJ, Kitahata MM et al. Trends in multidrug treatment failure and subsequent mortality among antiretroviral therapy-experienced patients with HIV infection in North America. Clin. Infect. Dis. 49, 1582–1590 (2009).

In clinical practice, a significant proportion of HIV-infected patients still experience treatment failure during antiretroviral therapy (ART). There is limited information regarding the second treatment failure and its mortality rate. This article assessed the findings of a recently published paper describing analyzed data from the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design. A total of 7159 out of 36,188 patients who received ART had a second virologic failure from ART. Although the risk of second failure decreased from 1996 to 2005 owing to the evolution of ART, the cumulative mortality at 5 years after onset of second failure was 26%. Strategies to prevent treatment failure are urgently needed in order to minimize the mortality among HIV-infected patients receiving ART.

Keywords::

• antiretroviral therapy
• HIV
• mortality
• treatment failure
• virologic failure

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.