Mortality rates in HIV-infected patients with second failure of antiretroviral therapy are still high: a lesson from NA-ACCORD

Abstract

Evaluation of: Deeks SG, Gange SJ, Kitahata MM et al. Trends in multidrug treatment failure and subsequent mortality among antiretroviral therapy-experienced patients with HIV infection in North America. Clin. Infect. Dis. 49, 1582–1590 (2009).In clinical practice, a significant proportion of HIV-infected patients still experience treatment failure during antiretroviral therapy (ART). There is limited information regarding the second treatment failure and its mortality rate. This article assessed the findings of a recently published paper describing analyzed data from the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design. A total of 7159 out of 36,188 patients who received ART had a second virologic failure from ART. Although the risk of second failure decreased from 1996 to 2005 owing to the evolution of ART, the cumulative mortality at 5 years after onset of second failure was 26%. Strategies to prevent treatment failure are urgently needed in order to minimize the mortality among HIV-infected patients receiving ART.