Switching to a two-drug regimen of Tivicay (dolutegravir) plus boosted Prezista (darunavir) had a high success rate in a recent small study but only for those who had a fully suppressed viral load at the outset, aidsmap reports.

Presenting their findings at the IDWeek conference in San Francisco, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of 65 people who had already been on treatment for HIV. The study members were switched to the two-drug regimen between January 2013 and December 2017.

Forty-nine of these individuals had a viral load at or below 200 when they switched their regimen, while 16 had a viral load above that threshold.

After a median follow-up period of 14 months, 95 percent of the group as a whole had a viral load below 200 and 94 percent had a viral load below 50. Among the 49 people who had a viral load at or below 200 when they made the medication switch, 100 percent had a viral load below 200 and 98 percent had a viral load below 50 at the end of follow-up. Among the 16 people who had a viral load above 200 upon switching regimens, 81 percent had a viral load below either 200 or 50 at the end of follow-up.

The regimen was generally safe and well tolerated. Ten people (15 percent) stopped taking the regimen during the follow-up period.

To read the aidsmap article, click here.

To read the conference abstract, click here.