Use of buprenorphine in HIV-infected injection drug users: negligible impact on virologic response to HAART

Some HIV-infected injecting drug users (IDUs) on drug abuse maintenance tre atment have access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART); this ra ises questions about the effects of individual treatments on the efficacy o f HAART. The French Cohort Study of HIV-infected IDUs - MANIF-2000 - allowe d one to assess whether buprenorphine differentially impacts efficacy of HA ART. Of the 103 HAART-treated patients, (excluding active IDUs and patients on methadone), 20 were on buprenorphine substitution treatment and 83 were ex-IDUs. A linear regression model used the differences in viral load titr e before and after treatment initiation, as a dependent variable, and showe d that buprenorphine treatment was not significantly associated with viral load trend. This was also the case when adjusting for other potential confo unders, and suggests that there is no major short-term influence of bupreno rphine on HIV viral load in HAART-treated patients. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scien ce Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.