Goal. To study the effect of combination
antiviral therapy with
tenofovir and
emtricitabine or
lamivudine with and without prior monotherapy with
lamivudine. Study. We reviewed charts of 31 HIV-/HBV-coinfected patients. Twelve 3TC-naïve patients initially received
tenofovir plus
emtricitabine. Nineteen
epivir experienced patients who had previously failed
epivir were given
tenofovir plus
emtricitabine. Results. Baseline median HBV
DNA was similar in the
epivir-naïve (5.8×10(7) copies/mL) and experienced group (7.3×10(7) copies/mL, P = .65). The median time to complete suppression of HBV was 466 days in the naïve group and 877 days in the experienced (P = .001). After 12 months, 6/10 (60%) naïve patients and 3/14 (21%) experienced patients had HBV
DNA below the detectionlimit (P = .067). After 24 months, 5/5 (100%) naïve patients and 4/13 (31%) experienced patients had an undetectable HBV
DNA level (P = .015). Conclusions. The median time to suppression of HBV
DNA was significantly shorter among treatment naïve patients. There was a significantly greater proportion of naïve patients with suppressed HBV
DNA at 24 months. Our results support using initial dual
therapy in those with HIV/HBV
coinfection.