Title
The safety of tenofovir-emtricitabine for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in individuals with active hepatitis B
Date Issued
01 January 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Solomon M.M.
Schechter M.
Liu A.Y.
McManhan V.M.
Hance R.J.
Chariyalertsak S.
Mayer K.H.
Grant R.M.
Bekker L.G.
Buchbinder S.
Kallas E.
Montoya O.
Veloso V.
Publisher(s)
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
Abstract
Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with daily oral emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (FTC/TDF) prevents HIV infection. The safety and feasibility of HIV PrEP in the setting of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection were evaluated. Methods: The Iniciativa Profilaxis Pre-Exposición study randomized 2499 HIV-negative men and transgender women who have sex with men to once-daily oral FTC/TDF versus placebo. Hepatitis serologies and transaminases were obtained at screening and at the time PrEP was discontinued. HBV DNA was assessed by polymerase chain reaction, and drug resistance was assessed by population sequencing. Vaccination was offered to individuals susceptible to HBV infection. Results: Of the 2499 participants, 12 (0.5%; including 6 randomized to FTC/TDF) had chronic HBV infection. After stopping FTC/ TDF, 5 of the 6 participants in the active arm had liver function tests performed at follow-up. Liver function tests remained within normal limits at post-stop visits except for a grade 1 elevation in 1 participant at post-stop week 12 (alanine aminotransferase = 90, aspartate aminotransferase = 61). There was no evidence of hepatic flares. Polymerase chain reaction of stored samples showed that 2 participants in the active arm had evidence of acute HBV infection at enrollment. Both had evidence of grade 4 transaminase elevations with subsequent resolution. Overall, there was no evidence of TDF or FTC resistance among tested genotypes. Of 1633 eligible for vaccination, 1587 (97.2%) received at least 1 vaccine; 1383 (84.7%) completed the series. Conclusions: PrEP can be safely provided to individuals with HBV infection if there is no evidence of cirrhosis or substantial transaminase elevation. HBV vaccination rates at screening were low globally, despite recommendations for its use, yet uptake and efficacy were high when offered.
Start page
281
End page
286
Volume
71
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias socio biomédicas (planificación familiar, salud sexual, efectos políticos y sociales de la investigación biomédica)
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84959166158
PubMed ID
Source
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
ISSN of the container
15254135
Sponsor(s)
Supported by DAIDS, NIAID, NIH (cooperative agreement UO1 AI64002 to R.M.G.), by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and by T32AI007641 (Training Grant). Study drugs were donated by Gilead Sciences. Support for specimen handling came from a grant from DAIDS (RO1AI062333 to R.M.G.) and by the Gladstone Institutes. Some infrastructure support at the University of California, San Francisco, was provided by NIH (UL1 RR024131). An oral abstract was presented at the International AIDS Society meeting, July 21, 2015, Vancouver, BC, Canada and was awarded the IAS/ANRS Lange-Van Tongeren Prize. The authors thank the study participants for their dedication to HIV prevention; the community advisory boards; the members of the DAIDS multinational independent data and safety monitoring board; Megha Mehrotra for data quality assurance; John Carroll for assistance with graphics. Brian Postle for database management and data transfer. Vera Holzmeyer and Catherine Brennan at Abbott Laboratories for HBV viral load and resistance testing. The following are additional members of the iPrEx Study Team who contributed to this work: Linda-Gail Bekker, Susan Buchbinder, Martin Casapia, Esper Kallas, Javier Lama, Orlando Montoya, and Valdiléa Veloso.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus