Increased carotid intima-media thickness in HIV patients treated with protease inhibitors as compared to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

Treatment of HIV-1-infected patients for 2 years or more with PI-based compared to NNRTI-based CART is associated with greater C-IMT, consistent with the reported higher risk of CVD in patients using PI. However, this difference seems not fully explained by a more favorable impact of NNRTI-based CART on HDL-C and apoA-I levels.