ArticleInfectious diseases and therapy2025
The Role of Protease Inhibitors in HIV Treatment: Who Still Needs Them in 2025?
Article in Infectious diseases and therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated alcohol-related liver disease in human immunodeficiency virus.World journal of virology · 2026Review
- Viral suppression and adverse events following antiretroviral therapy optimization among children and adolescents in Uganda, 2018-2023.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Beyond Viral Assembly: The Emerging Role of HIV-1 p17 in Vascular Inflammation and Endothelial Dysfunction.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionProtease inhibitors (PIs) remain an effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) option for people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PWH), particularly in complex clinical and virological scenarios. However, they are associated with greater metabolic toxicity and drug-drug interactions (DDI) compared with newer ART classes. This study aimed to characterize PWH currently receiving PI-based ART and to explore the reasons for maintaining these regimens.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional, observational study of all PWH on PI-based ART as of 30 June 2024 at the HIV Unit of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, ART history, and genotypic resistance data were extracted from the institutional database and compared with the rest of the cohort.
resultsAmong 6261 PWH on ART, 724 (11.6%) were receiving a regimen including a PI; their use progressively declined over the last two decades (p < 0.001). The most frequent reasons for PI prescription were prior virological failure (36%) and toxicity to previous ART (41%). Compared with other PWH, those on PIs were older (median 54 versus 48 years, p < 0.001), more frequently female patients (19% versus 13%, p < 0.001), and had higher rates of heterosexual (33% versus 21%, p < 0.001) and injection-drug-use transmission (15% versus 7%, p < 0.001). Virological suppression was significantly lower among PWH on PIs (88% versus 96%, p < 0.001). Genotypic resistance testing prior to PI prescription was available for 435 PWH; 74% had at least one major resistance substitution, and 70.4% had substitutions affecting two or more antiretroviral classes. In total, 299 PWH had experienced either virological failure or toxicity to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)- or integrase strand transfer inhibitor (InSTI)-based regimens prior to initiating a PI-based regimen. Among them, 42 had documented failure of or toxicity to both drug classes.
conclusionsAlthough their use has declined, a substantial number of PWH remain on regimens including a PI. These PWH typically have long-standing infections, prior ART failures, and documented resistance substitutions, supporting the continued use of PIs when other therapeutic options are limited.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.