The therapeutic implications of timely linkage and early retention in HIV care.

Following HIV diagnosis, linkage to outpatient treatment, antiretroviral initiation, and longitudinal retention in care represent the foundation for successful treatment. While prior studies have evaluated these processes in isolation, a systematic evaluation of successive steps in the same cohort of patients has not yet been performed. To ensure optimal long-term outcomes, a better understanding of the interplay of these processes is needed.

Increased regimen durability in the era of once-daily fixed-dose combination antiretroviral therapy.

Introduction: Data on initial antiretroviral regimen longevity predates the arrival of newer nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor backbones and once-daily regimens. Modern regimens are thought to possess greater tolerability and convenience. We hypothesized this would translate into greater durability.

Duration of highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens.

The median duration of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens was reported to be 11.8 months in one US study, but that study included both treatment-experienced and treatment-naive patients. The duration of initial HAART regimens for treatment-naive patients alone has not been reported.

Immunologic and virologic consequences of temporary antiretroviral treatment interruption in clinical practice.

To determine the long-term immunologic and virologic effects of antiretroviral treatment interruptions, a retrospective analysis of an ongoing observational database was performed at a university HIV clinic. All patients who began highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) after January 1, 1996 and (1) were HAART experienced for >/=90 days, (2) had a treatment interruption (TI) for >/=30 days, (3) resumed HAART for >/=30 days, and (4) had CD4(+) cell counts performed pre- and post-TI were included. Main outcome measures included the following: Immunologic success was defined as a post-TI CD4(+) cell count >90% of the pre-TI CD4(+) cell count (post-TI/pre-TI, >90%).