Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation, Access and Engagement in Care

A Pilot Study of Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation, Access and Engagement in Care (RHAE)

The investigators propose to evaluate Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation in Baltimore in newly and previously diagnosed HIV-positive patients not in care through identification of barriers, facilitators and acceptability of Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation among newly and previously diagnosed HIV-positive patients not in care identified at the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore campus and at the Baltimore City Health Department sexually transmitted disease clinics. Using this data, a protocol for Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation among newly and previously diagnosed HIV-positive patients not in care identified at the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore campus and the Baltimore City Health Department sexually transmitted disease clinics will be developed and pilot tested. This pilot data will be used to design a multi-site study evaluating the effectiveness of Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation versus facilitated linkage to care. A model for Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation in Baltimore could be generalized to cities where the HIV epidemic has a similar demographic and risk profile such as Washington DC, Atlanta, and New York City.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Human Immunodeficiency Virus
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Dolutegravir 50 MG; Drug: Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide 200 MG-25 MG Oral Tablet [DESCOVY]

Detailed Description

Prompt initiation of antiretroviral therapy to achieve and sustain viral suppression decreases the morbidity and mortality of HIV and greatly reduces the risk of transmission yet gaps in the care cascade persist. At current testing and treatment rates, an estimated 524,000 new infections and 375,000 deaths will occur between 2015 and 2025 in the US. Rates of HIV are unacceptably high among African Americans and men who have sex with men and a majority of new transmissions originate from patients previously diagnosed but not in care. To curb rates of infection and improve HIV-related outcomes, cities such as Baltimore, where the HIV epidemic predominately affects African Americans and men who have sex with men, must implement more effective ways to identify and treat all individuals with HIV. Compressing the treatment timeline by starting antiretroviral therapy at the time of diagnosis is known as rapid HIV treatment initiation. Early studies of Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation in newly diagnosed patients in South Africa and San Francisco showed significant improvement in care linkage, antiretroviral therapy initiation and time to viral suppression. Investigators propose to evaluate Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation in Baltimore in newly and previously diagnosed HIV-positive patients not in care through identification of barriers, facilitators and acceptability of Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation and pilot testing a protocol for Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation among newly and previously diagnosed HIV-positive patients not in care identified at the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore campus and at the Baltimore City Health Department sexually transmitted disease clinics. This pilot data will be used to design a multi-site study evaluating the effectiveness of Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation versus facilitated linkage to care. A model for Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation in Baltimore could be generalized to cities where the HIV epidemic has a similar demographic and risk profile such as Washington DC, Atlanta, and New York City.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 32
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
      • Johns Hopkins University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Men and women 18 to 65 years of age
• English speaking
• Patients identified in the Hopkins Emergency Department, Hopkins John G. Bartlett Specialty Practice clinic or Baltimore City Health Department sexually transmitted disease clinics who are newly diagnosed with HIV (test positive by 3rd or 4th generation HIV test or detectable HIV viral load with no previously documented positive HIV test by medical record and/or self-report) and patients with previous HIV diagnosis but by self-report are not in care and not on antiretroviral therapy (> six months without HIV care or antiretroviral therapy)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women who are currently pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant
• Adults lacking the capacity to consent
• Patients referred to HIV care outside of Johns Hopkins and/or Baltimore City Health Department Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) clinics
• Patients with estimated creatinine clearance <30 mL/min at last documented laboratory testing in the available medical record at site of referral, self-report of chronic kidney disease without documented creatinine within the last three months
• Patients who have pre-study documented HIV resistance mutations to dolutegravir or tenofovir alafenamide in the available medical record at site of referral or who self-report history of HIV resistance mutations. and susceptibility to dolutegravir and tenofovir alafenamide cannot be confirmed
• Patients with a contraindication to dolutegravir, tenofovir alafenamide and/or emtricitabine
• Patients on or in anticipation of starting a rifamycin medication (rifampin, rifabutin, or rifapentine) and/or carbamazepine
• Patients judged by clinic or study staff to be physically or emotionally unable to provide consent or participate in all study procedures

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Other: Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation; Initiation and reinitiation of antiretroviral therapy with dolutegravir 50 mg by mouth once daily and descovy 1 tablet by mouth once daily the same-day as HIV diagnosis and/or first clinic visit for people newly diagnosed with HIV and patients previously diagnosed with HIV but not on medications and not in care for over six months.

Drug: Dolutegravir 50 MG; Patients newly diagnosed with HIV or previously diagnosed with HIV and not on treatment or in care for at least six months will be given antiretroviral therapy starter packs containing dolutegravir (tivicay) 50 mg 1 tablet by mouth daily. Number of doses dispensed will be determined by the prescribing provider. Pill boxes will be given with each starter pack. At each clinic, patients are provided with 24/7 clinic contact information should he/she experience adverse side effects to medication and/or experience a medical emergency.; Other Names: Tivicay; Drug: Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide 200 MG-25 MG Oral Tablet [DESCOVY]; Patients newly diagnosed with HIV or previously diagnosed with HIV and not on treatment or in care for at least six months will be given antiretroviral therapy starter packs containing emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg (descovy) 1 tablet by mouth daily. Number of doses dispensed will be determined by the prescribing provider. Pill boxes will be given with each starter pack. At each clinic, patients are provided with 24/7 clinic contact information should he/she experience adverse side effects to medication and/or experience a medical emergency.; Other Names: Descovy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Patients Who Receive Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation	Number of patients who do start Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART) the same day it is offered.	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation Acceptability as Assessed by the Number of Patients Who Respond Yes to Starting ART Same Day	Number of patients who respond yes to starting ART same day versus those who respond no in the survey.	12 months
Number of Patients Offered Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation		12 months
Number of Patients Who Accepted Rapid HIV Treatment Initiation		12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Johns Hopkins University
• Collaborators: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Joyce Jones, MD, JohnsHopkins U

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 29, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 13, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): September 13, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 19, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 19, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): May 1, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 27, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 26, 2022
• Last Verified: September 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Blood-Borne Infections; Communicable Diseases; Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Lentivirus Infections; Retroviridae Infections; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; Immune System Diseases; Slow Virus Diseases; HIV Infections; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Infective Agents; Antiviral Agents; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors; Enzyme Inhibitors; Anti-HIV Agents; Anti-Retroviral Agents; HIV Integrase Inhibitors; Integrase Inhibitors; Tenofovir; Emtricitabine; Emtricitabine tenofovir alafenamide; Dolutegravir
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB00110075; P30AI094189 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No