ArticleBMC infectious diseases2026
Understanding viral blips in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy: a nationwide Swedish cohort study of 4,210 individuals.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe pathogenesis and clinical consequences of viral blips are not completely understood. The aim of this large nationwide study was to investigate the incidence of viral blips and factors associated with them, with particular attention to the third (core) agent class-comparing integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based regimens with non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)- and protease inhibitor (PI)-based regimens.
methodsFrom the Swedish national InfCareHIV cohort, we included treatment-naïve adults who commenced antiretroviral therapy (ART) from 1 January 2007; data were extracted on 30 September 2020. Viral blips were defined as transient plasma HIV RNA levels between 50 and 500 copies/mL preceded and followed by HIV RNA < 50 copies/mL. Virological failure was defined as two consecutive HIV RNA samples > 200 copies/mL or a single sample of HIV RNA > 1,000 copies/mL, in previously suppressed individuals with more than 12 months since ART initiation. Cox regression was used for event analyses.
resultsIn total, 4,210 individuals were included, of whom 853 (20.3%) had 1-6 registered blips. Median observation time was 5.5 years (range 0.5-13.7). Blip incidence was 4.35 (95% CI 4.02-4.69) per 100 person-years. In a sensitivity analysis applying the narrower definition of 50-199 copies/mL, the incidence was 3.80 (95% CI 3.49-4.11) per 100 person-years. Individuals on INSTIs and NNRTIs had similar risk, while those on PIs had a significantly higher risk of blips (hazard ratio [HR] 1.22, 95% CI 1.03-1.45; p = 0.02). Transient viremia was not associated with an increased risk of subsequent virological failure; individuals with blips had a lower risk than those with continuously undetectable HIV RNA (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.41-0.71; p < 0.0001).
conclusionIndividuals on INSTI- and NNRTI-based ART had fewer viral blips than those on PI-based ART. In this cohort, transient viremia below 500 HIV RNA copies/mL was not associated with a higher risk of subsequent virological failure. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
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.