Icardi G, Piersantelli N, Rizzo F, Guida B, Cassola G, Marchetto E; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 1990 Jun 20-23; 6: 391 (abstract no. 2151).

Inst Hyg Prev Med, Genoa, Italy

OBJECTIVE: To assess HIV infection evolution in anti-HIV positive patients treated with Zidovudine for at least 18 months. METHODS: From the beginning of this study (Sept. '87) 135 patients have been enrolled to be treated with AZT (1200 mg/die). Among them, 5 died between the 9th and 15th month of follow-up, while 50 subjects continued therapy for at least 18 months. Subjects were checked up regularly to evaluate clinical and lab parameters (Karnofsky index, CD4, B2microgl, etc.) Moreover, since Sept. '88 Zidovudinaemia has been regularly monitored by a RIA test (ZDV-Trac RIA). Statistical analysis was performed by variance analysis (ANOVA). RESULTS: AZT kinetics was preliminarily studied in 11 patients. After the assumption of a single dose, AZT peaks up, within 30'-90', and its level decreases under 130 ng/ml between 180'-240'. After 1 day of therapy, Zidovudinaemia settles on high values. Then we decided to collect samples from all subjects 120' after assumption, every 2 weeks. AZT mean titre at month 18 of follow-up was 683.4 ng/ml (s=107.3) and 701 (s=198.7) respectively in AIDS and in ARC patients. We observed a significant increase of CD4 lymphocyte number during the first 6 months of treatment in 40 subjects with ARC (basal = 222; month 6 = 338). The other parameters we took into account didn't show any significant change. Three out of 30 patients HIVAg posit at the beginning of the study, became negat during the follow-up, whilst 4 of the 25 initially negat subjects became posit. Two subjects progressed from ARC to AIDS during the study. No patient had to give up therapy or to reduce dosage except for 2 patients with AIDS and 1 with ARC. In these cases dosage was reduced to 800 mg/die. CONCLUSIONS: The employed dosage maintained AZT mean titre constantly over the minimum effective level, even if wide individual variations were observed. In the 2 patients whose infection progressed, AZT was constantly below 100ng/ml. There was a dissociation between the lab parameters, which didn't change significantly, and mean survival time of the treated patients. This could be due to the advanced stage of infection of the subjects. The mean survival time of AIDS patients turned out to be longer in treated subjects if compared to what we observed when AZT was not available.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• AIDS-Related Complex
• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
• HIV Infections
• Humans
• Survival Rate
• Zidovudine
• methods

Other ID:

• 40215190

UI: 102197156

From Meeting Abstracts