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These guidelines are intended as an update to those published in the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine in 2014 and the update on when to initiate antiretroviral therapy in 2015. Since the release of the previous guidelines, the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in southern Africa has continued. New antiretroviral drugs have become available with improved efficacy, safety and robustness. The guidelines are intended for countries in the southern African region, which vary between lower and middle income.

The most recent version of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society’s adult antiretroviral therapy (ART) guidelines was published in December 2014. In the 27 August 2015 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, two seminal randomised controlled trials that addressed the optimal timing of ART in HIV-infected patients with high CD4 counts were published: Strategic timing of antiretroviral therapy (START) and TEMPRANO ANRS 12136 (Early antiretroviral treatment and/or early isoniazid prophylaxis against tuberculosis in HIV-infected adults). The findings of these two trials were consistent: there was significant individual clinical benefit from starting ART immediately in patients with CD4 counts higher than 500 cells/μL rather than deferring until a certain lower CD4 threshold or clinical indication was met. The findings add to prior evidence showing that ART reduces the risk of onward HIV transmission. Therefore, early ART initiation has the public health benefits of potentially reducing both HIV incidence and morbidity. Given this new and important evidence, the Society took the decision to provide a specific update on the section of the adult ART guidelines relating to when ART should be initiated.

Background. An exploratory subanalysis of the ODIN trial was performed to evaluate the efficacy of darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r) 800/100 mg OD versus 600/100 mg BID in patients who were NNRTI-experienced but PI-naïve. Methods. ODIN was a phase III, 48-week study comparing DRV/r OD versus BID in 590 treatment-experienced patients with no DRV resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) at screening. Patients received DRV/r 800/100 mg OD or DRV/r 600/100 mg BID plus ≥2 NRTIs. Of the 590 patients randomized, 272 (46%) were NNRTI-experienced but PI-naïve. Results. Overall, 272 patients received DRV/r OD (n = 135) or BID (n = 137) plus ≥2 optimised NRTIs. The mean age was 39 years; 35% were female; 27% were Black, 24% Caucasian, 26% Oriental/Asian, and 23% other races; 17% were recruited in South Africa; and 48% had non-B HIV-1 subtypes. Mean baseline plasma HIV-1 RNA load was 4.10 log10⁡ copies/mL; median CD4 cell count was 258 cells/μL. At week 48, 111/135 (82%) of DRV/r OD and 109/137 (80%) of DRV/r BID patients achieved an HIV-1 RNA load <50 copies/mL. No patient developed primary PI RAMs. Conclusion. DRV/r 800/100 mg OD in combination with ≥2 optimised NRTIs led to virological suppression <50 copies/mL in 82% of NNRTI-experienced, PI-naïve patients by week 48.