Purpose: We have analyzed retrospectively the evolution of metabolic parameters in a cohort of 159 HIV-infected patients taking a lopinavir/ritonavir-containing regimen during a mean period of 15 months.
Method: This study was completed by an additional evaluation after strict 12 hours fasting of total cholesterol (TC), HDL-c, LDL-c, triglycerides (TG), glucose, and insulin levels in a subset of 100 patients from the cohort.
Results: TC and TG levels increased early after introduction of lopinavir/ritonavir, but remained subsequently stable. After a median of 15 months, TC was greater than normal laboratory range in 46% of cases and TG levels were greater than normal laboratory range in 52% of cases. However, in nearly 90% of these cases, elevations were less than or equal to grade 2. These increases were dependant on CDC stage and lipid levels at lopinavir/ritonavir initiation. No impact on glucose metabolism was found.
Conclusion: These results are particularly reassuring for the use of lopinavir/ritonavir in everyday practice.