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Background:

As the nature of viral blips remains unclear, their occurrence often leads to uncertainty. This study compares blip incidence rates during treatment with different combination antiretroviral therapy anchors.

Setting:

Retrospective cohort study in a tertiary hospital.

Methods:

All antiretroviral regimens between 2010 and 2020 containing 2 nucleos (-t) ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors and 1 anchor in virologically suppressed people living with HIV (PLWH) from our center were evaluated for the occurrence of blips [isolated viral loads (VLs) 50–499 copies/mL between measurements< 50 copies/mL]. Factors associated with blips were identified using multivariable generalized estimating equation–based negative binomial models. The relationship between blips and either persistent low-level viremia (consecutive VLs≥ 50 copies/mL not classified as failure) or virologic failure (consecutive VLs≥ 200 or 1 VL≥ …