Temporal change in the use of genotypic resistance testing over the years 1999--2003
Santoro, M.; Ceccherini-Silberstein, F.; Gori, C.; Svicher, V.; Forbici, F.; Bellocchi, M.C.; d'Arrigo, R.; Bertoli, A.; Giannella, S.; Trotta, M.P.; Bonfigli, S.; Antinori, A.; Perno, C.F.
New Microbiologica 27(2 Suppl 1: 141-144
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 1121-7138 PMID: 15646078 Document Number: 575051
The evaluation of resistance test perception by clinicians over the years 1999--2003 was assessed in an Italian cohort. The results on 2233 samples from 1416 HIV-1 infected patients show an increase in HIV-1 drug resistance test requests over time, with a plateau reached in the last three years. CD4-cell count at the time of genotype request progressively increased. In particular, the median CD4 cell count of drug-treated patients increased from 221x10(6) cells/l [interquartile range (IQR): 109-368] in 1999 to 296x10(6) cells/l (IQR: 166-478) in 2003 (p<0.0001). At the same time, plasma HIV-RNA level progressively decreased from a median of 103,500 copies/ml (IQR: 37,250-260,000) in 1999 to 9,444 copies/ml (IQR: 2,086-41,281) in 2003 (p<0.0001). Overall, data suggest that the genotype test is increasingly considered, and requested also for patients at earlier stages of drug history and/or at less severe disease stage.