Abstract
BackgroundThe risk of sexual HIV transmission in serodiscordant couples when the HIV-positive partner has full virologic suppression on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is debated. This study aims to systematically review observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs), evaluating rates of sexual HIV transmission between heterosexual serodiscordant couples when the HIV-positive partner has full suppression on cART.Methods and FindingsWe searched major bibliographic databases to November 2012 for relevant observational studies and RCTs without language restrictions. Conference proceedings, key journals and bibliographies were also searched. Studies reporting HIV transmission rates, cART histories and viral loads of the HIV-positive partners were included. Two reviewers extracted methodologic characteristics and outcomes. Of 20,252 citations, 3 studies met all eligibility criteria with confirmed full virologic suppression in the HIV-positive partner. We included 3 additional studies (2 cohort studies, 1 RCT) that did not confirm viral suppression in the HIV-positive partner at transmission in a secondary meta-analysis. Methodologic quality was reasonable. The rate of transmission in the 3 studies confirming virologic suppression was 0 per 100 person-years (95% CI = 0–0.05), with low heterogeneity (I2 = 0%). When we included the 3 studies that did not confirm virologic suppression, the rate of transmission was 0.14 per 100 person-years (95%CI = 0.04–0.31) (I2 = 0%). In a sensitivity analysis including all 6 studies, the rate of transmission was 0 per 100 person-years (95%CI = 0–0.01) after omitting all transmissions with known detectable or unconfirmed viral loads, as full suppression in these cases was unlikely. Limitations included lack of data on same-sex couples, type of sexual intercourse (vaginal vs. anal), direction of HIV transmission, exact viral load at the time of transmission, sexually transmitted infections (STI) rates, and extent of condom use.ConclusionsOur findings suggest minimal risk of sexual HIV transmission for heterosexual serodiscordant couples when the HIV-positive partner has full viral suppression on cART with caveats regarding information on sexual intercourse type, STIs, and condom use. These findings have implications when counseling heterosexual serodiscordant couples on sexual and reproductive health. More research is needed to explore HIV transmission risk between same-sex couples.
Highlights
The risk of horizontal HIV transmission between serodiscordant couples when the HIV-positive partner has full viral suppression with combination antiretroviral therapy remains unclear [1,2,3]
In the midst of uncertainty regarding the risk of sexual HIV transmission in these contexts, the Swiss National AIDS Commission issued a statement in January 2008 specifying that HIVinfected individuals could be considered non-infectious if they met three conditions: adherence to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) under the care of an HIV
We reported on whether the index case was on cART, whether the HIV transmission occurred on cART, the viral load at the time of transmission, overall HIV transmission rate per 100 personyears, HIV transmission rate per 100 person-years for those on cART and those not on cART, all with 95% confidence intervals (CI[s])
Summary
The risk of horizontal HIV transmission between serodiscordant couples when the HIV-positive partner has full viral suppression with combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) remains unclear [1,2,3]. The most recent systematic review, available in the Cochrane library examining the impact of cART on sexual transmission of HIV in serodiscordant couples, did not consider the influence of undetectable HIV plasma viral load on the risk of HIV transmission between discordant partners [14]. These reviews were published prior to the availability of data from the multicenter, randomized controlled trial (RCT), HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) Study 052 [15]. This study aims to systematically review observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs), evaluating rates of sexual HIV transmission between heterosexual serodiscordant couples when the HIV-positive partner has full suppression on cART
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