A Comparison of Two Ways to Manage Anti-HIV Treatment (The SMART Study)

The purpose of this study is to compare two ways of using anti-HIV drugs to help health care providers and patients decide how to best use anti-HIV treatments over many years. Many health care providers now treat patients with daily drugs to keep the viral load as low as possible. This approach helps patients with CD4 counts less than 200-250 cells/mm3 live longer without serious diseases. But it is not known if this is the best way to treat patients with higher CD4 counts. There is information suggesting that these patients may be able to wait to use anti-HIV drugs while CD4 counts are above 250 cells/mm3. Because this study will be carried out over several years, it will provide information on the long-term advantages and disadvantages of these two treatment strategies.

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Key information

Conditions

HIV Infections Blood-Borne Infections Communicable Diseases Genital Diseases Immune System Diseases Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes Infections Lentivirus Infections RNA Virus Infections Retroviridae Infections Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral Urogenital Diseases Virus Diseases

Age range

13 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Hospital Gn'l de Agudos JM Ramos Mejia, Buenos Aires, Argentina

About this study

Implementation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) guidelines, which emphasize maximal and durable suppression of viral load for the majority of individuals infected with HIV, has resulted in a substantial decline in morbidity and mortality. However, many asymptomatic patients are not at immediate risk of serious opportunistic diseases, the effectiveness of ART wanes over time due to HIV drug resistance, and there are short- and long-term toxicities of treatment. This motivates a comparison of two strategies: one which conserves treatments by deferring their use while the risk of opportunistic disease is low and one which aims for sustained virologic suppression, irrespective of disease risk.

In this large, long-term trial, patients will be randomly assigned to either the drug conservation (DC) or viral suppression (VS) group. Patients will be enrolled over a 3-year period and followed for an average of 7.5 years. The DC group will stop or defer ART until CD4 cell count declines to below 250 cells/mm3; they will then receive treatment to increase CD4 count to greater than 350 cells/mm3 followed by episodic ART based on CD4 cell count. The VS group will use ART to maintain viral load as low as possible, irrespective of CD4 cell count. Patients will be seen Months 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, then every 4 months for data collection visits. All available ARTs, including immunomodulators, and resistance testing may be used by patients in both treatment groups. Selected subsamples of patients enrolled in the study will be followed with more intensive data collection for secondary outcomes relating to cost and health care utilization, quality of life, HIV transmission risk behaviors, and metabolic complications of treatment.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Note: Enrollment into this trial was halted 01/11/06.

Inclusion criteria

HIV infection
CD4 cell count greater than 350 cells/mm3 within 45 days of study entry
Willing to start, change, or stop antiretroviral therapy
Acceptable methods of contraception
Good health at the time of study entry
Available for the study for at least 6 months
Able, in the clinician's opinion, to comply with the protocol

Exclusion criteria

Currently participating in the MDR-HIV, NvR study, or another study which is not consistent with one of the treatment groups in this study. CPCRA FIRST participants may be screened for SMART after August 8, 2005 and can be randomized into SMART on or after September 19, 2005.
Pregnant or breast-feeding

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Nih

Registry information

Official study title

A Large, Simple Trial Comparing Two Strategies for Management of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (The SMART Study)

Important dates

First posted: Dec 5, 2001
Registry last updated: Nov 25, 2009

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed