Change to abacavir-lamivudine-tenofovir combination treatment in patients with HIV-1 who had complete virological suppression

Patients who have not received previous antiretroviral treatment (ART) have a high failure rate on the combination treatment of abacavir, lamivudine, and tenovir. We assessed the virological failure rate in eight patients with HIV-1 who switched to this combination after having complete virological suppression from their previous long-term ART (median 8•0 months, range 7•5–18•0). Five of the eight patients showed virological failure. Four of these five patients had either the K65R mutation, the M184V/I mutation, or both. This combination of drugs cannot therefore be recommended as alternative treatment in patients with HIV-1 who are fully virologically suppressed.