%0 Journal Article %T 96 Week Follow-Up of HIV-Infected Patients in Rescue with Raltegravir Plus Optimized Backbone Regimens: A Multicentre Italian Experience %A Amedeo Capetti %A Simona Landonio %A Paola Meraviglia %A Antonio Di Biagio %A Sergio Lo Caputo %A Gaetana Sterrantino %A Adriana Ammassari %A Barbara Menzaghi %A Marco Franzetti %A Giuseppe Vittorio De Socio %A Giovanni Pellican¨° %A Elena Mazzotta %A Alessandro Soria %A Marianna Meschiari %A Michele Trezzi %A Lolita Sasset %A Benedetto Maurizio Celesia %A Patrizia Zucchi %A Sara Melzi %A Elena Ricci %A Giuliano Rizzardini %J PLOS ONE %D 2012 %I Public Library of Science (PLoS) %R 10.1371/journal.pone.0039222 %X Background Long term efficacy of raltegravir (RAL)-including regimens in highly pre-treated HIV-1-infected patients has been demonstrated in registration trials. However, few studies have assessed durability in routine clinical settings. Methods Antiretroviral treatment-experienced patients initiating a RAL-containing salvage regimen were enrolled. Routine clinical and laboratory follow-up was performed at baseline, week 4, 12, and every 12 weeks thereafter. Data were censored at week 96. Results Out of 320 patients enrolled, 292 (91.25%) subjects maintained their initial regimen for 96 weeks; 28 discontinued prematurely for various reasons: death (11), viral failure (8), adverse events (5), loss to follow-up (3), consent withdrawal (1). Eight among these 28 subjects maintained RAL but changed the accompanying drugs. The mean CD4+ T-cell increase at week 96 was 227/mm3; 273 out of 300 patients (91%), who were still receiving RAL at week 96, achieved viral suppression (HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL). When analyzing the immuno-virologic outcome according to the number of drugs used in the regimen, 2 (n = 45), 3 (n = 111), 4 (n = 124), or >4 (n = 40), CD4+ T-cell gain was similar across strata: +270, +214, +216, and +240 cells/mm3, respectively, as was the proportion of subjects with undetectable viral load. Laboratory abnormalities (elevation of liver enzymes, total cholesterol and triglycerides) were rare, ranging from 0.9 to 3.1%. The mean 96-week total cholesterol increase was 23.6 mg/dL. Conclusions In a routine clinical setting, a RAL-based regimen allowed most patients in salvage therapy to achieve optimal viral suppression for at least 96 weeks, with relevant immunologic gain and very few adverse events. %U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0039222