PI or NNRTI as First-line Treatment of HIV in West Africa - the PIONA Trial

Summary

BACKGROUND: Since 1996 the combination of three or more drugs has been the mainstay of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment. The most important types of drugs are called nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and protease inhibitors (PIs) Response to treatment is measured as increasing CD4+ cell count and decreasing HIV viral load. A major problem is the development of resistance. NNRTIs are recommended as part of first-line treatment of HIV in Africa but many Africans have a slower NNRTI clearance than Caucasians making them more susceptible for development of resistance in case of treatment interruptions. PIs might therefore be a better option in an African setting with low adherence.

AIM: To evaluate two different treatment regimens in HIV-1 infected patients:

A) A NNRTI (efavirenz/nevirapine) based regimen and B) A PI (ritonavir-boosted lopinavir) based regimen with regard to treatment outcomes. HYPOTHESIS: Treatment with a PI will be superior to treatment with a NNRTI due to less development of resistance.

METHODS: Treatment-naïve adult HIV-1 patients enrolled in an existing cohort The West African Retrovirus and Acquired Immune Deficiency (WARAID) cohort in Guinea Bissau with CD4+ cell count ≤ 350 cells/µL and/or clinical signs of immune suppression (World Health Organization (WHO) clinical stage 3 or 4) will be randomised 1:1 to: Treatment A: 2 NRTIs (lamivudine and either zidovudine or stavudine) and 1 NNRTI (efavirenz or nevirapine) or Treatment B: 2 NRTIs (same as in treatment A) and 1 PI (ritonavir-boosted lopinavir). Primary outcome: Viral load suppression \<400 copies/ml 12 months after enrolment.

PERSPECTIVES: Guidelines for treatment of HIV in Africa are more or less a copy of the guidelines used in Europe and North America. Genetic differences in pharmacokinetics, more women infected in Africa and difficulties ensuring good adherence mean that results obtained from Caucasian patients are not directly transferrable to African patients. The results of this study will hopefully help guiding the treatment of HIV in Africa in the future. The investigators believe the HIV infected people in West Africa deserve the same evidence-based medicine as in developed countries.

Conditions

• HIV-1

Interventions

DRUG

Efavirenz or Nevirapine

2 NRTIs (lamivudine 150 mg "bis in die - twice a day" (BID) and either zidovudine 300 mg BID if hemoglobin is ≥ 8 g/L or stavudine 30 mg BID if hemoglobin is \< 8 g/L) and 1 NNRTI (efavirenz 600 mg "omne in die - once daily" (OD) or nevirapine 200 mg OD for the first 2 weeks and after that 200 mg BID). Efavirenz will be used in all male patients according to national HIV guidelines. Pregnant patients and female patients with a child bearing potential will be treated with nevirapine if CD4+ cell count is ≤ 350 cells/mm3 with close monitoring of liver enzymes during the first 12 weeks in patients with CD4+ cell count \>250 cells/mm3. Females beyond childbearing age will be treated with efavirenz.

DRUG

Ritonavir-boosted lopinavir

2 NRTIs (lamivudine 150 mg BID and either zidovudine 300 mg BID if hemoglobin is ≥ 8 g/L or stavudine 30 mg BID if hemoglobin is \< 8 g/L) and 1 PI (ritonavir-boosted lopinavir 400/100 mg BID).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Aarhus University Hospital Skejby

  collaborator OTHER

• Bandim Health Project

  collaborator OTHER

• Ministry of Health, Guinea-Bissau

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Abbott

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• University of Aarhus

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sanne Jespersen, MD · Aarhus University Hospital Skejby

• Alex L Laursen, MD, DMSc · Aarhus University Hospital Skejby

• Lars Oestergaard, Prof MD DMSc · Aarhus University Hospital Skejby

• Christian Wejse, MD, PhD · Aarhus University Hospital Skejby

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-05-31

Primary Completion

2014-09-30

Completion

2014-09-30

Countries

• Guinea-Bissau

Study Locations