Four-Drug Regimen Is No Better Than Three-Drug

An initial antiretroviral regimen containing four anti-HIV medications is not significantly better at suppressing viral levels or boosting CD4 counts than standard triple-drug treatment, according to study of 53 antiretroviral-naive adults in the United Kingdom. About 84% of study subjects taking four-drug therapy containing Trizivir and Sustiva for 48 weeks achieved viral-load levels of less than 50, and 77% of those taking three-drug therapy consisting of Combivir and Sustiva lowered their viral loads to below 50. Four-drug therapy boosted CD4 counts by an average of 185, compared to an average increase of 164 for those on the three-drug regimen. Based on these findings, the researchers say a standard initial three-drug regimen is just as clinically potent as those that include a fourth.