Virologic and Immunologic Consequences of Discontinuing Combination Antiretroviral-Drug Therapy in HIV-Infected Patients with Detectable Viremia

The goal of antiretroviral-drug therapy in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is the complete suppression of viral replication.1,2 Failure to achieve this goal is common in clinical practice, occurring at a rate of 40 to 70 percent.3?5 Although failure to achieve complete viral suppression is common, failure in broader immunologic and clinical terms is uncommon, at least during the first 24 to 30 months of follow-up.3,4 These observations suggest that the ability of the virus to deplete CD4 cells may be diminished despite ongoing viral replication. We studied the consequences of discontinuing therapy in patients . . .