Two cases of multidrug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus infection treated with atazanavir and lopinavir/ritonavir combination therapy

The combination of atazanavir (ATV) and lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/RTV) with nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) has been used as a salvage regimen for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients. In this paper, we discuss two cases of HIV-positive patients who had long histories of virological failure following a heavy treatment of antiretroviral drugs, but then achieved virological suppression with double-boosted protease inhibitor (PI) regimens. In patients with multiple genotypic resistance to PIs and NRTIs, virological suppression can be achieved with a combination of ATV plus LPV/RTV with an NRTI backbone. The two cases in this report suggest that a combination of ATV plus LPV/RTV could be a useful salvage regimen for the subset of HIV-positive patients with limited treatment options.