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The following is a summary of “Unconventional use of injectable long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine against HIV-1 in PWH in clinical need: 52 weeks real-world data,” published in the January 2025 issue of Infectious Disease by Iannone et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze the durability of long-acting Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine (LA CAB + RPV) in people with HIV (PWH) who had a high comorbidity burden and adherence challenges.  

They assessed PWH who switched to LA CAB + RPV from February 2021 to January 2024 at 2 Italian outpatient settings, excluding those with criteria from registrational trials or significant clinical risks. Kaplan-Meier (KM) analysis was used to evaluate the probability of CAB/RPV discontinuation, and Cox regression analysis assessed potential predictors for discontinuation.  

The results showed that 74 PWH were enrolled, with a median of 7 injections (IQR 5–9), median age of 53 years (IQR 45–61), and median exposure to antiretrovirals of 11 years (IQR 8–18), 11 participants (14.9%) discontinued LA CAB + RPV, mainly due to injection-site pain, of 53 PWH who were undetectable before the switch, 37 maintained viral suppression at week 52, and 1 virological failure occurred at week 12. Among 21 participants with unsuppressed viral loads (median 66 cps/ml, IQR 40–215) at baseline, 10 (47.6%) achieved viral suppression. The overall discontinuation rate was 14.9% at week 52. Younger age was associated with a lower risk of discontinuation (HR 0.93, 95% CI, 0.88–0.99, P =0.048).  

Investigators concluded the results supported the potential benefits of using LA CAB + RPV in PWH facing adherence challenges and comorbidities. 

Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-025-10499-0