[Lopinavir/ritonavir monotherapy for the treatment of HIV-1 infection: the emergence of resistance]

Abstract

Treatment with lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) monotherapy has been shown to be an effective alternative, especially in the maintenance of patients previously treated with combination therapy and prolonged virological suppression. LPV/r monotherapy is associated with a greater number of low-level viremia episodes than combination therapy, without resistance mutations being detected in the majority of patients. The incidence of the development of major resistance mutations in the OK pilot and OK04 studies was very low: 0.51 per 100 patients-year, and was mainly related to mutations in positions 46, 54 and 82, which have not compromised other therapeutic options. The contribution of low-level resistance mutations to loss of virological control seems small, and no different from that observed in combination therapy. However, this phenomenon should be studied in larger, long-term trials.