Patient assessments were performed at baseline, after the first month on treatment, and every 3 months thereafter, including biochemical and haematological profiles, CD4+ T-cell counts, and plasma HIV-1 viraemia (COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS Taq- Man HIV-1 Test, version 2.0; Roche Diagnostic Systems, Branchburg, NJ, USA), with a limit of detection of 20 copies/ mL.