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– Infants with perinatal HIV infection are significantly more likely to achieve viral suppression by age 12 months if they start antiretroviral therapy (ART) before age 3 months than if physicians wait until 3-6 months of age, Paolo Palma, MD, reported at the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases.

He presented a study of the factors associated with time to virologic sup

Dr. Paolo Palma of Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome
Dr. Paolo Palma
pression in 420 perinatally HIV-infected children who began ART before age 6 months. The study was conducted by EPPICC, the European Pregnancy and Paediatric HIV Cohort Collaboration, a consortium of 25 research groups in 20 European countries and Thailand. To date, the EPPICC data base includes more than 30,000 HIV-positive pregnant women and more than 6,000 perinatally infected children.

The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors involved in attaining early virologic control of perinatally acquired HIV. This information is necessary to lay the groundwork for planned future investigations of immunotherapeutic strategies designed to achieve sustained ART-free remission. Such strategies are most likely to be successful in very young children who have not yet built up a massive viral load, explained Dr. Palma of Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome.

“A major obstacle to curing HIV infection is persistence of virus as integrated proviral DNA in long-lived cells even after many years on ART. ART-free HIV remission is more likely to occur if viral suppression is achieved very early in infection,” he said.

The median age of the 420 subjects at the time ART was initiated was 2.9 months. Their CD4 cell percentage was 34%, with a median CD4 cell count of 1,780 and an average viral load at baseline of 316,228 copies/mL.

At 12 months of age, 84% of patients had achieved viral suppression. In multivariate analyses adjusted for initial ART regimen and geographic location, three factors were associated with this outcome: younger age at ART onset, a lower baseline viral load, and a higher per
This image is a 3D illustration of the HIV virus
xrender/thinkstockphotos.com
This image is a 3D illustration of the HIV virus.
centage of CD4 cells.

Indeed, for each 1-month increase in age at onset of ART, the likelihood of virologic response at age 12 months decreased by 16%. Similarly, the rate of virologic response at 1 year of age decreased by 15% for each 10 copies/mL increase in viral load at the start of ART. In contrast, the likelihood of virologic suppression at age 12 months increased by 10% for each 10% increase in CD4 cell percentage at the start of treatment.

Among the variables that proved unrelated to virologic suppression at 1 year of age were gender, AIDS status, feeding style (breastfed versus bottle-fed), and ethnicity.

Dr. Palma reported having no relevant financial disclosures.

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– Infants with perinatal HIV infection are significantly more likely to achieve viral suppression by age 12 months if they start antiretroviral therapy (ART) before age 3 months than if physicians wait until 3-6 months of age, Paolo Palma, MD, reported at the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases.

He presented a study of the factors associated with time to virologic sup

Dr. Paolo Palma of Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome
Dr. Paolo Palma
pression in 420 perinatally HIV-infected children who began ART before age 6 months. The study was conducted by EPPICC, the European Pregnancy and Paediatric HIV Cohort Collaboration, a consortium of 25 research groups in 20 European countries and Thailand. To date, the EPPICC data base includes more than 30,000 HIV-positive pregnant women and more than 6,000 perinatally infected children.

The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors involved in attaining early virologic control of perinatally acquired HIV. This information is necessary to lay the groundwork for planned future investigations of immunotherapeutic strategies designed to achieve sustained ART-free remission. Such strategies are most likely to be successful in very young children who have not yet built up a massive viral load, explained Dr. Palma of Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome.

“A major obstacle to curing HIV infection is persistence of virus as integrated proviral DNA in long-lived cells even after many years on ART. ART-free HIV remission is more likely to occur if viral suppression is achieved very early in infection,” he said.

The median age of the 420 subjects at the time ART was initiated was 2.9 months. Their CD4 cell percentage was 34%, with a median CD4 cell count of 1,780 and an average viral load at baseline of 316,228 copies/mL.

At 12 months of age, 84% of patients had achieved viral suppression. In multivariate analyses adjusted for initial ART regimen and geographic location, three factors were associated with this outcome: younger age at ART onset, a lower baseline viral load, and a higher per
This image is a 3D illustration of the HIV virus
xrender/thinkstockphotos.com
This image is a 3D illustration of the HIV virus.
centage of CD4 cells.

Indeed, for each 1-month increase in age at onset of ART, the likelihood of virologic response at age 12 months decreased by 16%. Similarly, the rate of virologic response at 1 year of age decreased by 15% for each 10 copies/mL increase in viral load at the start of ART. In contrast, the likelihood of virologic suppression at age 12 months increased by 10% for each 10% increase in CD4 cell percentage at the start of treatment.

Among the variables that proved unrelated to virologic suppression at 1 year of age were gender, AIDS status, feeding style (breastfed versus bottle-fed), and ethnicity.

Dr. Palma reported having no relevant financial disclosures.

 

– Infants with perinatal HIV infection are significantly more likely to achieve viral suppression by age 12 months if they start antiretroviral therapy (ART) before age 3 months than if physicians wait until 3-6 months of age, Paolo Palma, MD, reported at the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases.

He presented a study of the factors associated with time to virologic sup

Dr. Paolo Palma of Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome
Dr. Paolo Palma
pression in 420 perinatally HIV-infected children who began ART before age 6 months. The study was conducted by EPPICC, the European Pregnancy and Paediatric HIV Cohort Collaboration, a consortium of 25 research groups in 20 European countries and Thailand. To date, the EPPICC data base includes more than 30,000 HIV-positive pregnant women and more than 6,000 perinatally infected children.

The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors involved in attaining early virologic control of perinatally acquired HIV. This information is necessary to lay the groundwork for planned future investigations of immunotherapeutic strategies designed to achieve sustained ART-free remission. Such strategies are most likely to be successful in very young children who have not yet built up a massive viral load, explained Dr. Palma of Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome.

“A major obstacle to curing HIV infection is persistence of virus as integrated proviral DNA in long-lived cells even after many years on ART. ART-free HIV remission is more likely to occur if viral suppression is achieved very early in infection,” he said.

The median age of the 420 subjects at the time ART was initiated was 2.9 months. Their CD4 cell percentage was 34%, with a median CD4 cell count of 1,780 and an average viral load at baseline of 316,228 copies/mL.

At 12 months of age, 84% of patients had achieved viral suppression. In multivariate analyses adjusted for initial ART regimen and geographic location, three factors were associated with this outcome: younger age at ART onset, a lower baseline viral load, and a higher per
This image is a 3D illustration of the HIV virus
xrender/thinkstockphotos.com
This image is a 3D illustration of the HIV virus.
centage of CD4 cells.

Indeed, for each 1-month increase in age at onset of ART, the likelihood of virologic response at age 12 months decreased by 16%. Similarly, the rate of virologic response at 1 year of age decreased by 15% for each 10 copies/mL increase in viral load at the start of ART. In contrast, the likelihood of virologic suppression at age 12 months increased by 10% for each 10% increase in CD4 cell percentage at the start of treatment.

Among the variables that proved unrelated to virologic suppression at 1 year of age were gender, AIDS status, feeding style (breastfed versus bottle-fed), and ethnicity.

Dr. Palma reported having no relevant financial disclosures.

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Key clinical point: Start antiretroviral therapy in the first month or 2 of life in babies infected with HIV in utero.

Major finding: With each 1-month delay in starting antiretroviral therapy, the likelihood of attaining viral suppression by age 12 months drops by 16%.

Data source: This observational study included 420 infants with perinatally acquired HIV infection who began antiretroviral therapy prior to age 6 months.

Disclosures: Dr. Palma reported having no relevant financial disclosures.

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