Key clinical point: Treatment failure rates were similar in most HIV patients treated with dual and standard therapy at 48 and 96 weeks.

Major finding: The relative risk of treatment failure across 10 studies was 1.20; the relative risk of virologic failure across 8 studies was 1.54.

Study details: The data come from a meta-analysis of 14 articles including 5,205 treatment-naive adults with HIV who received dual therapy or triple therapy.

Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. Lead author Dr. Mariantonietta and several coauthors disclosed relationships with companies including ViiV Healthcare, AbbVie, Janssen-Cilag and Gilead Science, and Merck Sharp & Dohme, but no conflicts in connection with this study. Dr. Sweet disclosed past relationships with ViiV, Gilead, Merck, and Janssen on their speakers bureaus, and current advisory roles with Gilead and ViiV.