Comparison of 3-drug versus 4-drug and PI versus non-PI combinations as initial HAART: experience from 1998 to 2007.

Although established in controlled studies that there is no advantage to 4-drug highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) or regimens with or without protease inhibitors (PIs), we questioned this finding in a clinical setting (ie, no inclusion criteria). Ours is a single clinic retrospective study including all participants >18 years of age during their first year of HAART. A total of 190 participants were reviewed, with 168 (88%) attaining a viral load <400 copies/mL at the end of a year of HAART; 144 of 164 (88%) succeeded with 3 drugs and 24 of 26 (92%) with 4 drugs (P = .51). In all, 59 of 71 (83%) succeeded using a PI versus 109 of 119 (92%) without a PI (P = .08). Male gender and exposure time to HAART were significant variables for a successful outcome. Failures were due to side effects (50%), nonadherence (45%), and drug allergy (5%). Our results support current guidelines recommending 3-drug HAART.