Lipid Profile Changes after Switch to Atazanavir from other Protease Inhibitor-based Combined Antiretroviral Treatment in HIV-infected Korean / 감염과화학요법

Dyslipidemia, one of the major disadvantages of use of protease inhibitor (PI), is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral treatment. Little is known about the effect of a switch from another PI to unboosted atazanavir (ATV) on the lipid profile. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the lipid profile after switching from another PI to either unboosted or boosted ATV in HIV-infected Koreans. We retrospectively collected data on the serum lipid profile at the time of the switch (week 0), and weeks 12 and 24 after the switch, as well as clinical characteristics at week 0 in a total of 27 patients. Triglyceride (TG) showed a significant decrease at weeks 12 and 24 in all patients (196 vs. 174 mg/dL, P=0.048 and 196 vs. 150 mg/dL, P=0.021, respectively). However, these effects were only observed in the unboosted ATV group (N=14; 239 vs. 125 mg/dL, P=0.017 and 239 vs. 87 mg/dL, P=0.021, respectively). For total cholesterol, only the unboosted ATV group at 24 weeks showed a significant decrease (184 vs. 158 mg/dL, P=0.031). No significant changes were observed in LDL- and HDL-cholesterol at weeks 12 and 24 in both the unboosted and boosted ATV groups. These results suggest that changing to unboosted ATV from another PI may ameliorate high TG and total cholesterol in HIV-infected Koreans.

Clinical Factors Associated with Hepatitis A Virus Seropositivity in HIV-Infected Adults Living in a Country with an Epidemiologic Shift for Hepatitis A Virus Infection

The number of HIV-infected individuals susceptible to Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is increasing in Korea; however, it has proven difficult to devise a vaccination policy therefore because limited seroepidemiologic data exists for them. Accordingly, anti-HAV IgG was measured in 188 HIV-infected adults between July 2008 and July 2010. The nadir CD4+ T lymphocyte counts were not different between the HAV-positive and -negative groups (197 +/- 138 vs 202 +/- 129, P = 0.821). The only factor independently associated with seropositive status was age under 40 yr old (OR 0.017, P < 0.001). Our findings suggest that HAV vaccination in HIV-infected adults should be targeted at persons under the age of 40 yr.