1713. Factors Associated with Viral Rebound post Blip in Patients from a Community HIV Clinic

Abstract

BackgroundBlips are detectable increases in the HIV viral load (VL) that occur after therapy has effectively suppressed the virus to an undetectable level. There is no clear etiology for the development of blips. The association between blips and viral failure remains unclear.MethodsThis retrospective chart review aimed to clinically characterize patients who developed blips in a community HIV clinic in north Philadelphia between 2014-2018. A blip was defined as a single detectable VL < 500 copies/mL which appears between two undetectable VL measurements. Multivariate analysis was performed to examine the relationship of certain variables and viral rebound (VR) in patients with blips. Viral rebound was defined as post blip VL > 200 copies/mL that was not followed by an undetectable viral load.ResultsOf a total of 666 patients, 225 (33.7%) had at least 1 blip. 59% were male and 41% were female. The majority were African American (84.4%). Sixty seven percent were heterosexuals and 25.7% were MSM. Analyzing CD4 counts at the moment of blip, 68% had >500 cells/mm3. The average value of the blips was 85 copies/mL with 48.8% of the patients having a blip between 20-50 copies/mL. Most of the patients were on INSTIs (49.5%) followed by NNRTIs (35.6%). Of the 225 patients, 148 had at least 1 year of follow up post-blip. Those who were followed for less than 1-year post-blip were not included in the statistical analysis to find potential factors associated with VR. Thirty-two (21.6%) patients developed rebound. The multivariate analysis showed that being male and having a higher blip value were factors associated to increased likelihood of VR. Factors associated to decreased likelihood of rebound were the use of NNRTIs at blip and an HIV transmission factor that was not heterosexual sex (MSM and IDU). All of these associations were noted to be statistically significant.ConclusionThe variables that were found to be associated to viral rebound could help guide clinicians during the surveillance of patient’s with blips. Further research in larger cohorts would help clarify the role of these variables in patients who develop treatment failure.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures