Background:
Whether HIV-positive injecting drug users (IDUs) are at higher risk of
developing drug resistance mutations (DRMs) after methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) than
any other HIV-positive population is unclear.
Objective:
To compare the incidence of new DRMs in two population groups: antiretroviraltreatment
(ART) HIV-positive IDUs and non-drug users.
Methods:
A prospective cohort of ART HIV-positive patients including IDUs who received MMT
(MMT group) and non-drug users (N-MMT group) was established from April 2016 to December
2017 in Guangxi, China.
Results:
Of the 80 participants, 43 were in the MMT group and 37 were in the N-MMT group.
Compared with the N-MMT group, the HRs of PIs, NRTIs and NNRTIs for new DRMs in the
MMT group was 1.55 (95%CI: 0.28-8.64; P = 0.616), 1.51 (95%CI: 0.44-5.20; P = 0.512) and 0.45
(95%CI: 0.15-1.35; P = 0.155), respectively. There was no dose-response relationship between
MMT and new DRMs for PIs, NRTIs and NNRTIs (P > 0.05). The new DRM incidence for NRTIs
(138.23 per 104 person-months) was higher than for PIs (94.16 per 104 person-months) and
NNRTIs (95.41per 104 person-months) in the MMT group, while the new DRM incidence for
NNRTIs (208.24 per 104 person-months) was higher than for PIs (44.13 per 104 person-months)
and NRTIs (91.78 per 104 person-months) in the N-MMT group.
Conclusion:
Among ART HIV-positive patients, there is no significant difference in the incidence
of new DRMs between IDUs receiving MMT and non-drug users. MMT has little impact on the
development of DRMs among IDUs.