Objectives.—To review current knowledge of the biology and clinical implications of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) resistance to antiretroviral drugs, describe assays for measuring resistance, and assess their use in clinical practice. Participants.—The International AIDS Society-USA assembled a panel of 13 physicians with expertise in basic science, clinical research, and patient care rele...

BACKGROUND Relatively few data are available on the association between the use of specific antiretroviral drugs and the rate of viral rebound in those attaining a viral load (VL) <50 copies/mL while receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS Patients achieving a VL <50 copies/mL for the first time while receiving HAART were followed until viral rebound (2 consecutive VLs...

The spectrum of drugs used in HIV-infected patients has dramatically changed since triple antiretroviral combinations were introduced, albeit at the expense of some severe adverse events, in 1996. Abandonment of stavudine in countries that can afford it, new drugs from new classes with a wide therapeutic window and the impressive scale-up of drug access in resource-limited settings are several ...

Lipodystrophy was first described in HIV-1-infected patients in 1998 [1–5]. The main clinical feature is subcutaneous fat loss or lipoatrophy of the face, limbs, and buttocks [6,7]. Patients can also experience fat accumulation within the abdomen, neck or breasts [8,9]. The pathogenesis of lipoatrophy appears to be multifactorial. Contributing factors are CD4þ lymphocyte cell count, HIV clinica...

BACKGROUND HIV/AIDS incidence and mortality rates have decreased in the U.S. since 1996. Accompanying the longer life spans of those diagnosed with the disease, however, is a tremendous rise in expenditures on medication. The objective of this study is to describe the trends in utilization of, spending on, and market shares of antiretroviral medications in the U.S. Medicaid Program. Antiretrovi...

BACKGROUND Among persons in North America who are newly infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the prevalence of transmitted resistance to antiretroviral drugs has been estimated at 1 to 11 percent. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of susceptibility to antiretroviral drugs before treatment and drug-resistance mutations in HIV in plasma samples from 377 subjects wit...

BACKGROUND Subsidized antiretroviral therapy programs obviously lowers the cost of antiretroviral drugs but other major costs are still incurred, which makes the overall cost of accessing and consuming antiretroviral treatment very high and sometimes catastrophic. The objective of this study was to estimate the total cost to rural ambulating HIV/AIDS patients on highly active antiretroviral the...

OBJECTIVE To analyze self-reported adherence to antiretroviral regimens containing ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors, nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI), raltegravir, and maraviroc. METHODS Overall, 372 consecutive subjects attending a reference center for HIV treatment in Florence, Italy, were enrolled in the study, from December 2010 to January 2012 (mean age 48 year...

HIV infected patients’ survival is improving, thanks to the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The prolonged life expectancy increases the burden of co-morbidities and the need for medication. HIV-positive patients often need to take other drugs with the unavoidable risk of drug-to-drug interactions (DDI). Antiretroviral drug interactions are common, difficult to approach and hard t...

When antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale up began in Africa a decade ago, there was concern that lack of laboratory monitoring for patients receiving antiretroviral drugs would be an obstacle to providing treatment. To address this concern, the first set of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for ART in resource-limited settings rightly recommended that programmes should primarily use cli...