Dolutegravir in Real Life in Lesotho

HIV-1-infection Clinical Trial

— DO-REAL  

Official title:

Observational Assessment of the Nation-wide Roll-out of Dolutegravir in Lesotho

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04238767
• Other study ID #: P001-19-1.2
• Status: Completed
• Start date: February 10, 2020
• Est. completion date: May 20, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: October 2022
• Source: Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Clinical Trial Summary

DO-REAL is an observational cohort study assessing the large-scale roll-out of the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir (DTG) in Lesotho.

DTG has been shown to have low side-effects and superior treatment outcomes for people living with HIV-1 when compared to other antiretroviral drugs currently in use in low-income countries. The use of DTG in first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens was recommended by the World Health Organisation in 2018 and adopted by the Ministry of Health in Lesotho in 2019. While DTG-based ART regimens have led to promising health outcomes in high-income and clinical trial settings, certain concerns remain regarding the risk of ART-experienced patients transitioning to a DTG-based ART regimen being placed on a functional monotherapy (increasing the otherwise low risk of viral resistance to DTG) as well as side-effects including psychological symptoms and weight gain.

Thus, the DO-REAL study intends to address these concerns and provide data on health outcomes of HIV patients on DTG in a "real-life" high-prevalence setting.

Description:

SUMMARY: DO-REAL is an observational cohort study assessing the large-scale roll-out of the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir (DTG) in Lesotho.

BACKGROUND: DTG is a second-generation integrase strand transfer inhibitor with low side-effects and superior treatment outcomes for people living with HIV-1 when compared to other antiretroviral drugs currently in use in low-income countries. Though some cases have been described, HIV-1 resistance to DTG is rare in clinical settings when DTG is used as part of a combination therapy. The use of DTG in first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens was recommended by the World Health Organisation in 2018 and was adopted by the Ministry of Health in Lesotho in 2019. DTG now forms part of the recommended first-line therapy for many ART-naïve patients in Lesotho. In addition, many patients on a non-DTG-based first-line ART regimen will be transitioned to a DTG-based regimen.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the positive health outcomes observed in patients receiving DTG-based ART in high-income countries and in clinical trial settings, there is little data on virologic outcomes of patients on DTG during large-scale implementation in low- and lower middle-income countries. Concerns remain regarding the risk that some patients transitioning to a DTG-based regimen will be placed on a functional monotherapy. Furthermore, there are concerns as to psychological side-effects and observed weight gain. This observational study aims to assess the virologic outcomes (viral suppression rates as well as potential drug resistance) as well as side-effects of people living with HIV-1 and transitioning to a DTG-based ART regimen in Lesotho.

DO-REAL has two major objectives:

• To assess virologic outcomes after the programmatic shift to DTG-based regimens.

• To assess psychological and somatic wellbeing in patients before and after the programmatic shift to DTG-based regimens.

METHODS: DO-REAL is a cohort study enrolling people living with HIV who are initiating or are eligible (according to national guidelines and the local implementation thereof) to initiate a DTG-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen. The study will take place at three hospitals in two districts (Butha-Buthe, Mokhotlong) in Lesotho, and aims to enrol over 2000 participants. Viral loads will be measured on the day of initiating a DTG-based regimen (or on the day this was offered), as well as four, 12 and 24 months thereafter. In a post-hoc analysis, samples will be tested for drug resistance in samples where the viral load permits (approx. ≥100 c/mL). A subset of participants will complete screenings for depression, general health, and HIV-related symptoms.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 1433
• Est. completion date: May 20, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: May 19, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• HIV-1-positive

• Initiating or eligible to initiate (offered to initiate) a DTG-based ART regimen

• Informed written consent (and assent, if applicable) provided

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• HIV-1-infection

Intervention

Drug:
• Dolutegravir
Eligibility to receive DTG-based ART at enrolment (i.e., initiation or offer to initiate DTG-based ART)

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Lesotho	Butha-Buthe Government Hospital	Butha-Buthe
Lesotho	Seboche Mission Hospital	Butha-Buthe

Sponsors (6)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute	District Health Management Team of Butha-Buthe, Lesotho, District Health Management Team of Mokhotlong, Lesotho, Ministry of Health, Lesotho, SolidarMed, University of Basel

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Lesotho, 

References & Publications (2)

Brown JA, Nsakala BL, Mokhele K, Rakuoane I, Muhairwe J, Glass TR, Amstutz A, Tschumi N, Belus JM, Klimkait T, Labhardt ND. Dolutegravir in real life: Self-reported mental and physical health outcomes after transitioning from efavirenz- to dolutegravir-ba — View Citation

Brown JA, Nsakala BL, Mokhele K, Rakuoane I, Muhairwe J, Urda L, Amstutz A, Tschumi N, Klimkait T, Labhardt ND. Viral suppression after transition from nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor- to dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy: A prospect — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Virologic outcomes after programmatic transition to DTG-containing regimens	Viral load	4 months after initiation of a DTG-containing regimen
Primary	Quality of life screening score (change from baseline)	12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12; 12-item index in which questions are scored and weighted into 2 subscales, physical health and mental health; scores can range from 0-100 with higher scores indicating higher physical or mental health)	Change between time of initiation of a DTG-containing ART regimen and 4 months thereafter
Primary	Depression screening score (change from baseline)	Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; 9-item index with each item scored 0-3, providing a 0-27 severity score with a higher score indicating higher severity)	Change between time of initiation of a DTG-containing ART regimen and 4 months thereafter
Primary	HIV symptom screening score (change from baseline)	Modified HIV Symptom Index (21-item index with each item scored 0-4, providing a 0-84 severity score with a higher score indicating higher severity)	Change between time of initiation of a DTG-containing ART regimen and 4 months thereafter
Secondary	Virologic status at programmatic transition to DTG-containing regimens	Viral load (post-hoc analysis)	On day of initiation of a DTG-containing regimen
Secondary	Viral drug resistance at programmatic transition to DTG-containing regimens	HIV-1 drug resistance (assessed by Sanger sequencing) in the case of an unsuppressed viral load (post-hoc analysis)	On day of initiation of a DTG-containing ART regimen
Secondary	Weight (change from baseline)	Change from time of enrolment; median and interquartile range; in kg	On day of initiation of a DTG-containing ART regimen and 4, 12 and 24 months thereafter
Secondary	Reasons for discontinuation of a DTG-containing regimen	Reasons for discontinuing a DTG-containing regimen as noted in medical records, where applicable	Up to 24 months after enrolment
Secondary	Long-term virologic outcomes after programmatic transition to DTG-containing regimens	Viral load	12 and 24 months after initiation of a DTG-containing regimen
Secondary	Viral drug resistance after programmatic transition to DTG-containing regimens	HIV-1 drug resistance (assessed by Sanger sequencing) in the case of an unsuppressed viral load	4, 12 and 24 months after initiation of a DTG-containing regimen