Acceptance Rate and Reasons for Rejection of Long Acting Injectable Antiretrovirals

Dennis Feihel1, Daniel Spier2, Ty Stevens2

  • 1Northwell Health, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, 500 Hofstra Blvd, NY, 11549, USA. dfeihel@northwell.edu.

AIDS and Behavior
|December 28, 2022
PubMed

In January 2021, cabotegravir/rilpivirine, the first extended-release injectable regimen for the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was approved. Long-acting injections have the potential to improve adherence and viral suppression. We analyzed the acceptance rate of, and reasons for declining to switch to, the new regimen. During routine appointments, 102 people living with HIV (PLWH) were presented with information on the new medication and asked if they would like to switch from their current regimen. If they declined to switch, they were asked why. Sixty-nine percent of respondents declined to switch, with frequency of injections as the primary reason. Patients indicated they would be willing to switch if the interval between injections was longer. Forty percent of the patients accepting the injectable anti-retrovirals (ARVs) were not on any other medications. Barriers to switching to long-acting injectable ARVs include the need for more frequent provider visits, aversion to needles, and a perceived lack of evidence supporting the new medication.

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