Recommended First-Line Antiretroviral Therapy Regimens and Risk of Diabetes Mellitus in HIV-Infected Adults in Resource-Limited Settings.

Objective: The use of some antiretroviral drugs has been associated with a higher risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) in HIV-infected patients, but the risk associated with antiretroviral drug combinations remains unclear. We investigated the association between first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016, and the risk of DM in adults.

Method: We selected all HIV-infected adults within the Thai National AIDS Program who started a first-line ART regimen consisting the following between October 2006 and September 2013: zidovudine+lamivudine+nevirapine; tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)+lamivudine+nevirapine; zidovudine+lamivudine+efavirenz; TDF+lamivudine/emtricitabine+efavirenz; zidovudine+lamivudine+ritonavir-boosted lopinavir (LPV/r); or TDF+lamivudine+LPV/r.

Incidence and clinical outcomes of diabetes mellitus in HIV-infected adults in Thailand: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Since 2005, Thailand has scaled up one of the largest antiretroviral treatment (ART) programs in South East Asia. Although diabetes mellitus (DM) incidence is increasing in low and middle-income countries, its burden and contributing factors in the HIV infected population are not well known.

Methods: Using the Thai National AIDS Program data over a period of 8-years, we identified patients diagnosed with DM based on the following records: 1) fasting plasma glucose equal to or greater than 126 mg/dl following the 2013 American Diabetes Association criteria or 2) diagnosis codes E11-E14 of the 2010 WHO International Classification of Diseases, or 3) anti-diabetic drugs.

Tenofovir versus Placebo to Prevent Perinatal Transmission of Hepatitis B.

Background: Pregnant women with an elevated viral load of hepatitis B virus (HBV) have a risk of transmitting infection to their infants, despite the infants' receiving hepatitis B immune globulin.

Methods: In this multicenter, double-blind clinical trial performed in Thailand, we randomly assigned hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive pregnant women with an alanine aminotransferase level of 60 IU or less per liter to receive tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) or placebo from 28 weeks of gestation to 2 months post partum. Infants received hepatitis B immune globulin at birth and hepatitis B vaccine at birth and at 1, 2, 4, and 6 months.

Need for Internal Medicine Subspecialists in Thailand.

Background: Matching supply side of the Internal Medicine (IM) subspecialists to the demand for complex medical care at referral medical centers would lead to more efficient health system management and ultimately optimal clinical outcome. The second decade of the universal health coverage policy in Thailand has raised the awareness on how to reach equitable utilization goals of good quality medical services, while barriers of accession have been removed. More accurate evidence-based human resource planning is timely needed.

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus: a phase III, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of a short course of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in women with hepatitis B virus e-antigen.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is complicated by cirrhosis and liver cancer. In Thailand, 6-7 % of adults are chronically infected with HBV. The risk of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HBV has been estimated to be about 12 % when mothers have a high hepatitis B viral load, even if infants receive passive-active prophylaxis with HBV immunoglobulin (HBIg) and initiate the hepatitis B vaccine series at birth.

Low-dose versus standard-dose ritonavir-boosted atazanavir in virologically suppressed Thai adults with HIV (LASA): a randomised, open-label, non-inferiority trial.

Background: Thai patients with HIV have higher exposure to HIV protease inhibitors than do white people and dose reduction might be possible. We compared the efficacy of low-dose with standard-dose ritonavir-boosted atazanavir in virologically suppressed Thai patients with HIV.

Methods: In this randomised, open-label, non-inferiority trial, we recruited patients aged 18 years or older who were receiving ritonavir-boosted protease-inhibitor-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) with HIV plasma viral loads of less than 50 copies per mL, an alanine aminotransferase concentration of less than 200 IU/L, and a creatinine clearance of at least 60 mL/min from 14 hospitals in Thailand.

Plasma and Intracellular Pharmacokinetics of Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate 300 mg Every 48 Hours vs 150 mg Once Daily in HIV-Infected Adults With Moderate Renal Function Impairment.

Background: The approved tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) dose of 300 mg every 48 hours for adults with moderate renal impairment is often confusing and inconvenient. Using a new TDF formulation, we compared the pharmacokinetics of the standard dose with a dose of 150 mg once daily in HIV-infected adults.

Methods: This was an open-label pharmacokinetic study.

New-Onset Diabetes and Antiretroviral Treatments in HIV-Infected Adults in Thailand.

Background: Use of several antiretrovirals (ARVs) has been shown to be associated with a higher risk of diabetes in HIV-infected adults. We estimated the incidence of new-onset diabetes and assessed the association between individual ARVs and ARV combinations, and diabetes in a large cohort in Thailand.

Methods: We selected all HIV-1-infected, nondiabetic, antiretroviral-naive adults enrolled in the Program for HIV Prevention and Treatment cohort (NCT00433030) between January 2000 and December 2011.

Ergotism in Thailand caused by increased access to antiretroviral drugs: a global warning.

Ergotism is a toxic condition resulting from overexposure to the ergot compounds produced by various fungi of the genus Claviceps. Traditionally, such exposure was due to ingestion of infected grains, but long-term or excessive use of medications containing ergot derivatives or drug-drug interactions between these medications can result in ergotism. Ergotamine, typically used to treat migraine, has less than 5% bioavailability due to extensive first-pass metabolism by cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4).

Switching HIV treatment in adults based on CD4 count versus viral load monitoring: a randomized, non-inferiority trial in Thailand.

Background: Viral load (VL) is recommended for monitoring the response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) but is not routinely available in most low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a CD4-based monitoring and switching strategy would provide a similar clinical outcome compared to the standard VL-based strategy in Thailand.

Methods And Findings: The Programs for HIV Prevention and Treatment (PHPT-3) non-inferiority randomized clinical trial compared a treatment switching strategy based on CD4-only (CD4) monitoring versus viral-load (VL).

Histoplasmosis and penicilliosis among HIV-infected Thai patients: a retrospective review.

Histoplasmosis and penicilliosis are fungal infections with similar clinical presentation and laboratory findings that were reported mainly in the era prior to highly active antiretroviral therapy. We conducted a retrospective review at two hospitals in Central Thailand of the medical records of HIV-positive patients with microbiologic evidence of histoplasmosis or penicilliosis between January 2003 to September 2007 when antiretrovirals became widely available in Thailand. Fifty patients met inclusion criteria; 36 had histoplasmosis, and 14 had penicilliosis.

Long term outcomes of nevirapine containing antiretroviral therapy at a center in Thailand.

This retrospective cohort study was conducted at Chon Buri Hospital, Thailand, to determine the long term outcomes of patients taking Nevirapine (NVP) containing antiretroviral therapy (ART). Patients taken NVP at least 5 years were included. Two hundred eighty-five patients met inclusion criteria and were included in the study.

A randomized comparison of second-line lopinavir/ritonavir monotherapy versus tenofovir/lamivudine/lopinavir/ritonavir in patients failing NNRTI regimens: the HIV STAR study.

Background: Data informing the use of boosted protease inhibitor (PI) monotherapy as second-line treatment are limited. There are also no randomized trials addressing treatment options after failing first-line non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-regimens.

Methods: HIV-infected subjects ≥18 years, with HIV RNA≥1,000 copies/ml while using NNRTI plus 2 NRTIs, and naive to PIs were randomized to lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) 400/100 mg twice daily monotherapy (mono-LPV/r) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) once daily plus lamivudine (3TC) twice daily plus LPV/r 400/100 mg twice daily (TDF/3TC/LPV/r) at nine sites in Thailand.

Extended evaluation of the virologic, immunologic, and clinical course of volunteers who acquired HIV-1 infection in a phase III vaccine trial of ALVAC-HIV and AIDSVAX B/E.

Background: The Thai Phase III Trial of ALVAC-HIV and AIDSVAX B/E showed an estimated vaccine efficacy (VE) of 31% to prevent acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Here we evaluated the effect of vaccination on disease progression after infection.

Methods: CD4(+) T-cell counts and HIV viral load (VL) were measured serially.

Efavirenz pharmacokinetics during the third trimester of pregnancy and postpartum.

Background: The impact of pregnancy on efavirenz (EFV) pharmacokinetics is unknown.

Methods: International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials P1026s is an on-going, prospective, nonblinded study of antiretroviral pharmacokinetics in HIV-infected pregnant women that included a cohort receiving 600 mg EFV once daily as part of combination antiretroviral therapy. Intensive steady-state 24-hour blood sampling was performed during the third trimester and at 6-12 weeks postpartum.

Monitoring of Renal Function among HIV-Infected Patients Receiving Tenofovir in a Resource-Limited Setting.

The use of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is supposed to be increased in a resource-limited setting due to the changing of the guidelines. TDF-associated renal function declines among HIV-infected patients were defined by an increase of serum creatinine (SCr) >1.5 times, a 25% decrease in calculated creatinine clearance (CCrCl), or an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from the baseline.

Influence of body weight on achieving indinavir concentrations within its therapeutic window in HIV-infected Thai patients receiving indinavir boosted with ritonavir.

Indinavir boosted with ritonavir (IDV/r) dosing with 400/100 mg, twice daily, is preferred in Thai adults, but this dose can lead to concentrations close to the boundaries of its therapeutic window. The objectives of this analysis were to validate a population pharmacokinetic model to describe IDV/r concentrations in HIV-infected Thai patients and to investigate the impact of patient characteristics on achieving adequate IDV concentrations. IDV/r concentration data from 513 plasma samples were available.

Incidence and risk factors for tenofovir-associated renal function decline among Thai HIV-infected patients with low-body weight.

Objectives: we aimed at determining the incidence and factors for TDF-associated renal function decline among Thai HIV-infected patients.

Methods: retrospective and prospective cohort studies were conducted. We enrolled HIV-infected adults who had initiated TDF.

Pregnancy outcomes among HIV-infected women undergoing antiretroviral therapy.

Background: The use of antiretroviral drugs (ARV) to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) promises to be effective. However, limited data on the adverse effects of ARV among pregnant women and pregnancy outcomes have been reported in clinical practice.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess adverse effects and outcomes among pregnant HIV-infected women receiving antiretroviral drugs for either antiretroviral therapy (ART) or PMTCT.

Guidelines for antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1 infected adults and adolescents: the recommendations of the Thai AIDS Society (TAS) 2008.

Background: More than 100,000 patients have been treated, since the implementation of the National Universal Coverage for antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Thailand Although there are several comprehensive guidelines available internationally, there is a need to have guidelines that can be implemented in Thailand.

Material And Method: The guidelines were developed by a panel of 17 members who are the experts on HIV research and/or HIV patient care and appointed without incentive by the Thai AIDS Society (TAS). The recommendations were based on evidences from the published studies and availability of antiretroviral agents.

Efficacy and tolerability of a double boosted protease inhibitor (lopinavir + saquinavir/ritonavir) regimen in HIV-infected patients who failed treatment with nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

Objectives: Long-term nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based antiretroviral treatment failure in most developing countries has led to broad cross-resistance within NNRTI and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) classes. In this study, we investigated the efficacy and tolerability of a double boosted protease inhibitor (PI) regimen in this setting.

Methods: A total of 64 HIV-infected patients who had failed NNRTI-based regimens were randomized to receive either lopinavir/saquinavir/ritonavir [LPV/SQV/r; 400/1000/100 mg twice a day (bid)] alone or indinavir/ritonavir (IDV/r; 800/100 mg bid) plus two NRTIs optimized with genotypic drug resistance guidance.

High rate multiple drug resistances in HIV-infected patients failing nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor regimens in Thailand, where subtype A/E is predominant.

The prevalence of drug resistance was determined among 64 HIV-infected Thai patients who were failed while receiving nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based regimens. Eighty-nine percent of patients had 1 or more NNRTI mutation resistances. Almost all patients had resistance to at least 1 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI), and 42% had multiple-NRTI resistance.

Prevalence of SIL and SCCA in human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive women at anonymous clinic in Chonburi Hospital.

Unlabelled: The series of 231 HIV-infected women were recruited in Chonburi Hospital, Thailand. Demographic, gynecologic factors were interviewed Pap smear was performed and classified based on the Bethasda system (1991) by a cytotechnologist. All abnormal Pap smear slides were reviewed by a cytopathologist.