Table 1.
Characteristics of the included people living with HIV (PLWH) who presented with low-level viremia
| characteristics | Total (n=150) | PLWH with DNA Genotyping (n=105) | PLWH with RAM Conferring low-Level or Above Resistance (n=18) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||
| Female | 8 (5.3) | 7 (6.5) | 0 (0.0) |
| Male | 142 (94.7) | 98 (93.3) | 18 (100.0) |
| Age | |||
| Median (IQR), years | 37 (32–46) | 39 (33–48) | 38 (35–48) |
| Risk group for HIV transmission | |||
| MSM | 116 (77.3) | 84 (80.0) | 15 (83.3) |
| Heterosexuals | 15 (10.0) | 11 (10.5) | 2 (11.1) |
| PWID | 4 (2.7) | 2 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) |
| Unknown | 15 (10.0) | 8 (7.6) | 1 (5.6) |
| VL at LLV (copies/mL) | |||
| 50–200 | 118 (78.7) | 81 (77.1) | 15 (83.3) |
| 201–400 | 16 (10.7) | 13 (12.4) | 1 (5.6) |
| 400–1000 | 16 (10.7) | 11 (10.5) | 2 (11.1) |
| Virological failure ever occurring | |||
| Yes | 22 (14.7) | 15 (14.3) | 4 (22.2) |
| No | 128 (85.3) | 90 (85.7) | 14 (77.8) |
| CD4+T cell count at LLV, median (IQR), cells/µL | 488.2 (289.8–699.9) | 490.2 (296.1–700.5) | 424.6 (262.0–561.6) |
| Time since ART initiation, median (IQR), years | 3.1 (1.1–5.2) | 3.1 (1.0–4.8) | 3.3 (1.0–6.8) |
| Treatment regimen when LLV was detected | |||
| 2NRTI+NNRTI | 117 (78.0) | 80 (76.2) | 13 (72.2) |
| 2NRTI+PI | 19 (12.7) | 10 (9.5) | 2 (11.1) |
| 2NRTI+INSTI | 12 (8.0) | 14 (13.3) | 3 (16.7) |
| 2NRTI | 1 (0.7) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| NRTI+NNRTI | 1 (0.7) | 1 (1.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Number of antiretrovirals since ART initiation | 4 (3–5) | 4 (3–5) | 4.0 (3.8–5.0) |
| Number of RNA genotyping performed before inclusion | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) |
| Duration of follow-up, median (IQR), months | 5.1 (3.0–8.1) | 5.4 (3.0–8.7) | 6.0 (3.5–10.2) |
Notes: DNA genotyping indicates the patients who were successfully amplified and sequenced. Drug resistance indicates the patients who were identified with resistance mutations.
Abbreviations: ART, antiretroviral therapy; INSTI, integrase strand-transfer inhibitor IQR, interquartile range; LLV, low-level viremia; NRTI, nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor; NNRTI, non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor; MSM, men who have sex with men; PI, protease inhibitor; PWID, people who injected drugs; VL, viral load.