ABSTRACT
Background: In countries with universal access to antiretroviral therapy a progressive increase in the number of patients that are infected with resistant virus, is observed. Aim To detect the presence of primary resistance to antiretroviral drugs among patients with a recent diagnosis of HIV infection. Material and methods: Twenty five male patients aged 25 to 45 years, with a diagnosis of a recent HIV infection, done between 2004 and 2005, were studied. Genotypic resistance to antiretroviral drugs was studied using the Genetic Resistance Test TRUGENE® from Bayer. Results: Resistance mutations were detected in 10 patients. All had an university title or had university studies. All lived in northeastern Santiago and had risky sexual behaviors while traveling abroad. Seven mutations were detected in reverse transcriptase. Of these, three were associated to a high resistance level and four, to an intermediate or low resistance, were also detected. Conclusions: A high frequency of genotypic resistance was detected in this group of Chilean patients recently infected with HIV. A higher socioeconomic status and lifestyle could have influenced these results.