Question
Can some people use daily oral ART less often than 7 days a week?
23 October 2024. Related: Adherence, All topics.
I’ve heard some interesting news that because newer ARV ‘s like Biktarvy and Dovato are so advanced in comparison to older meds there might not be a need to take daily. Some people are saying they are taking a tablet every 3 days and when bloods done their viral load remains undetectable.
Is there some new study out there that supports this.
As for me I’m religiously adhering to a daily tablet.
Answer
Hi there
Thanks, a few studies have reported good results from only taking HIV meds five days a week.
This includes this small study using Biktarvy:
https://i-base.info/htb/48358
This is only a small study so the results should be taken cautiously. Also, the results might be specific to this combination. There are no data on Dovato which could be more risky as it only contains two drugs.
Please talk to your doctor about this so they can arrange extra monitoring if needed.
Dropping more than two doses a week is not a good idea as this study showed that daily meds are better.
https://i-base.info/htb/36517
Treatment guidelines still recommend trying to take daily ART every day. So sticking to daily ART is proven as being highly effective.
Dropping to only taking ART every three days is definitely NOT recommended. The would only be about two doses a week and would have a much higher risk of treatment failing and developing drug resistance.
Comment