Lamivudine or emtricitabine (XTC)/protease inhibitor dual therapy as a harm-reduction strategy in patients with tenofovir-related renal toxicity: A casecontrol study

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is widely used in HIV-infected patients. It is associated with tubular toxicity, but its management is controversial. A possible strategy is to switch to a dual therapy based on lamivudine or emtricitabine (XTC) and protease inhibitors (PIs). A case-control study was designed to evaluate the switch to XTC + PI therapy in patients with TDF-related renal toxicity. A case was defined as a patient who was on TDF/XTC + PI and who switched to XTC + PI. A control was defined as a patient with the same clinical features who remained on TDF/XTC + PI. Twenty-one cases and 21 controls were included. After 48 weeks, no differences in efficacy were observed. No improvement in the glomerular filtration rate as estimated with the Cockroft-Gault formula (eGFR) was seen, but the number of times that patients had values below 60 ml/min was higher with standard TDF/XTC 1 PI treatment than with dual XTC + PI treatment. A switch to dual therapy could be an option for patients at risk of TDF-related renal damage with no relevant risk of virological or immunological failure.