Introduction: The management of complex interactions between antiretroviral therapy (ART) and calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) immunosuppression regimens in HIV-positive to HIV-positive renal transplant recipients can be challenging. Literature describing ART regimens and indications for regimen switching in these patients is limited.
Methods: This retrospective review included 53 HIV-positive to HIV-positive renal transplant recipients. Data on ART regimens, reasons for ART switching, and timing of switches were described from day of transplant to study endpoint (end of study date, death, or graft failure). The association between rejection and ART regimen (protease inhibitor [PI] -based vs. non-PI-based regimen) was analyzed using negative binomial regression.
Results: There were a total of 46 switches in 31 of 53 patients (58%). Protocol switches (n = 17 of 46, 37%) accounted for most switches, of which the majority were from non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) to PIs. Other common reasons for switching include cytochrome P450 enzyme induction from efavirenz (EFV) (9 of 46, 20%), tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) nephrotoxicity (8 of 46, 17%) or side effects (6 of 46, 13%). Of the 46 switches, nearly half (n = 21, 46%) occurred during the transplant admission period, and approximately two-thirds (n = 28, 62%) were during the first year post-transplantation. There was an association between rejection and being maintained on a PI-based regimen (incidence rate ratio 2.77 (95% confidence interval 1.03-7.48), P = 0.044).
Conclusion: Despite frequent switching of ART regimens, HIV viral loads remained supressed and graft function remained stable in most HIV-positive kidney transplant recipients in our cohort. There was however a concerning signal for increased rejection rates in those on a PI-based regimen.
Keywords: ART switching; HIV; antiretroviral therapy; protease inhibitors; transplantation.
© 2022 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc.