Open AccessPerspectives of people living with HIV‐1 on implementation of long‐acting cabotegravir plus rilpivirine in US healthcare settings: results from the CUSTOMIZE hybrid III implementation‐effectiveness study
Author(s) -
Garris Cindy P.,
Czarnogorski Maggie,
Dalessandro Marybeth,
D'Amico Ronald,
Nwafor Toyin,
Williams Will,
Merrill Deanna,
Wang YuanYuan,
Stassek Larissa,
Wohlfeiler Michael B.,
Sinclair Gary I.,
Mena Leandro A.,
Thedinger Blair,
Flamm Jason A.,
Benson Paul,
Spreen William R.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of the international aids society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.724
H-Index - 62
ISSN - 1758-2652
DOI - 10.1002/jia2.26006
Subject(s) - rilpivirine , medicine , regimen , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , health care , pandemic , covid-19 , family medicine , viral load , disease , antiretroviral therapy , economics , economic growth , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The CUSTOMIZE hybrid III implementation‐effectiveness study evaluated implementation of once‐monthly long‐acting (LA) cabotegravir + rilpivirine in diverse US healthcare settings. Here, we report patient participant perspectives after 12 months in CUSTOMIZE. Methods CUSTOMIZE was a phase IIIb, 12‐month study conducted from July 2019 to October 2020 at eight diverse US HIV clinics that enrolled virologically suppressed people living with HIV‐1 (PLHIV) on a stable oral regimen to receive monthly cabotegravir + rilpivirine LA injections after a 1‐month oral lead‐in. Participants were administered quantitative surveys before injections at months 1 (baseline), 4 and 12. A randomly selected subset of participants was interviewed at baseline and month 12. Data collection at month 12 was completed by October 2020 (during the COVID‐19 pandemic). Results At baseline, 109 and 34 participants completed surveys and interviews, respectively; 87% were male; 35% were Black or African American. All participants who remained in the study at month 12 ( n = 102) maintained HIV‐1 RNA <50 copies/ml; two participants withdrew due to injection‐related reasons. Mean total scores measuring acceptability and appropriateness of cabotegravir + rilpivirine LA were high at baseline (4.5–4.6 out of 5) and month 12 (4.7–4.9). At month 12, 74% of participants reported nothing interfered with receiving LA injections; injection pain or soreness was the most common concern (15%). Time spent in the clinic and coming to the clinic for monthly injections was very or extremely acceptable after 12 months for most participants (93% and 87%, respectively), with 64% reporting having spent ≤30 minutes in the clinic for injection visits. At month 12, 92% of participants preferred LA injections to daily oral tablets (3%); 97% plan to continue LA treatment going forward. In month 12 interviews, 24 (77%) of 31 participants reported the COVID‐19 pandemic did not impact their ability to receive treatment. Conclusions Once‐monthly cabotegravir + rilpivirine LA was highly acceptable among PLHIV who were virologically suppressed on a stable antiretroviral regimen and interested in trying LA therapy, with few participants reporting challenges receiving LA injections. Implementation data from CUSTOMIZE suggest that monthly LA injections provide a convenient and appealing treatment option for PLHIV.