Nuke‐sparing regimens as a main simplification strategy and high level of toxicity resolution after antiretroviral switch: the SWITCHART Study

Background The advent of combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the past decade has led to HIV suppression in most cases. Virological failure was the main reason for ART switch a few years ago; however, toxicity and treatment simplification have now gained importance due to the availability of more effective and convenient drugs. This study assessed the reasons for ART switch in daily practice. Material and Methods Observational retrospective study that included patients whose ART was switched between January 2011 and July 2012. Patients with any other switch during the follow‐up period (until September 2013) were excluded. Results A total of 246 patients were included. Main reasons for ART switch were simplification (33%) and toxicity (31%), followed by clinical trial inclusion (13%), virological failure (6%), drug interaction (4%), patient decision (3%), lack of adherence (2%), pregnancy (1%) and other (8%). Eighty patients switched to a simpler regimen (median age 48 [40–53], mean CD4 count 608±265 cells/cl, 89%