BACKGROUND: Dolutegravir/lamivudine (DTG/3TC) is a recommended therapy regimen for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative people living with HIV (PLWH) who have achieved HIV virological suppression or are treatment-naïve. However, this may overlook the impact of occult hepatitis B infection on HIV suppression, which mainly present as hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) positive but HBsAg negative. We aim to assess the effect of HBcAb positivity on HIV suppression among PLWH who had switched to DTG/3TC. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted including 127 HBcAb-positive and 474 HBcAb-negative PLWH (all were HBsAg negative) who had switched to DTG/3TC at the Beijing Ditan Hospital in China. HIV-RNA suppression was compared pre-switch (not baseline), at switch, and at 12&24 months post-switch, across three categories: (1) target not detected (TND)
(2) HIV RNA <
40 cp/mL
(3) blip. Virological suppression included TND and HIV RNA <
40 cp/mL. Epidemiological (gender, age) and clinical data (CD4 count, HIV viral load, etc.) were extracted from the hospital information system. A RESULT: HBcAb-positive PLWH were older at DTG/3TC switch (median age: 41 vs. 36 years old, CONCLUSION: In the 24-month follow-up after switching to DTG/3TC, HBcAb positivity was not significantly associated with HIV virological suppression.