HIV AIDS medical therapy

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Alejandro Lemor, M.D. [2]

Overview

The primary goal of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is to reduce HIV-associated morbidity and mortality. This goal is best accomplished by using effective ART to maximally inhibit HIV replication, as defined by achieving and maintaining plasma HIV RNA (viral load) below levels detectable by commercially available assays. Durable viral suppression improves immune function and quality of life, lowers the risk of both AIDS-defining and non-AIDS-defining complications, and prolongs life. Based on emerging evidence, additional benefits of ART include a reduction in HIV-associated inflammation and possibly its associated complications.

Medical Therapy

Anti-HIV Medication

Anti-HIV medications (also called antiretrovirals) are grouped into six drug classes according to their mechanism of action. The six classes are as follows:

1. Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).
2. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs).
3. Protease inhibitors (PIs).
4. Fusion inhibitors.
5. CCR5 antagonists.
6. Integrase inhibitors.

Multidrug regimen has proved to be very beneficial because of reduction in progression to AIDS, opportunistic infections, rate of hospitalizations and deaths.

Group	Drugs	Dosing
Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs)	Abacavir (ABC)	300 mg BID or 600 mg once daily
	Didanosine (ddI)	400 mg once daily In combination with TDF: 200 mg once daily
	Emtricitabine (FTC)	200 mg once daily
	Lamivudine (3TC)	150 mg BID or 300 mg/d
	Stavudine (d4T)	400 mg BID
	Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF)	300 mg once daily
Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs)	Efavirenz(EFV)	600 mg once daily
	Etravirine (ETR)	200 mg BID
	Nevirapine (NVP)	200 mg once daily for 14 days, then 200 mg BID or 400 mg once daily
	Rilpivirine (RPV)	25 mg once daily
Protease Inhibitors (PIs)	Atazanavir (ATV)	400 mg once daily In combination with TDF: 300 mg + RTV 100 mg once daily In combination with EFV: 400 mg + RTV 100 mg once daily
	Darunavir (DRV)	800 mg/d
	Fosamprenavir (FPV)	1400 mg BID or 700 mg + RTV 100 mg BID In combination with EFV: 700 mg + RTV 100 mg BID or 1400 mg + RTV 300 mg once daily
	Indinavir (IDV)	800 mg q8h
	Ritonavir-Boosted Lopinavir (LPV/r)	400 mg/100 mg BID or 800 mg/200 mg once daily
	Nelfinavir (NFV)	1250 md BID or 750 mg TID
	Ritonavir (RTV)	100-400 mg/d q12-24h
	Saquinavir (SQV)	1000 mg BID
	Tipranavir (TPV)	500 mg BID
Integrase Inhibitors	Dolutegravir (DTG)	50 mg q12-24h
	Elvitegravir (EVG)	150 mg once daily
	Raltegravir (RAL)	400 mg BID
Fusion Inhibitor	Enfuvirtide (T20)	90 mg SQ BID
CCR5 Antagonist	Maraviroc (MVC)	150-600 mg BID
Adapted from Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in HIV-1-infected adults and adolescents.

Goals of Therapy

DHHS ART Guidelines present the following goals for therapy:

• Durable suppression of HIV viral load ( to <50 cells/mL ).
• Restoration of normal CD4 cell count.
• Prevention of transmission of the disease.
• Prevention of building of drug resistance.
• Improvement in quality of life of the patient.

Uncontrolled viremia causes inflammation and immune activation, which has an overall effect on cardiovascular, renal and hepatic systems. Controlling viremia also controls these effects.

Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART)

▸ Click on the following categories to expand treatment regimens.

Recommended Regimens   ▸  NNRTI-Based Regimen   ▸  PI-Based Regimen   ▸  INSTI-Based Regimen Alternative Regimens   ▸  PI-Based Regimen   ▸  INSTI-Based Regimen

Recommended Regimen NNRTI-Based Regimen ▸ Efavirenz/Tenofovir/Emtricitabine† NNRTI-based regimen for patients with HIV RNA < 100,000 copies/mL ▸ Efavirenz PLUS ▸ Abacavir/Lamivudine† (only for HLA-B*5701 negative patients) OR ▸ Rilpivirine/Tenofovir/Emtricitabine† (only for patients with CD4 < 200 cells/mm³) †Emtricitabine may be substituted for lamivudine or vice versa Adapted from Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in HIV-1-infected adults and adolescents. Recommended Regimen PI-Based Regimen ▸ Atazanavir/Ritonavir(low dose) PLUS ▸ Tenofovir/Emtricitabine† OR ▸ Darunavir/Ritonavir(low dose) PLUS ▸ Tenofovir/Emtricitabine† PI-based regimen for patients with HIV RNA < 100,000 copies/mL OR ▸ Atazanavir/Ritonavir(low dose) PLUS ▸ Abacavir/Lamivudine† (only for HLA-B*5701 negative patients) †Emtricitabine may be substituted for lamivudine or vice versa Adapted from Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in HIV-1-infected adults and adolescents. Recommended Regimen INSTI-Based Regimen ▸ Dolutegravir PLUS ▸ Abacavir/Lamivudine† (only for HLA-B*5701 negative patients) OR ▸ Dolutegravir PLUS ▸ Tenofovir/Emtricitabine† OR ▸ Elvitegravir/Cobicistat/Tenofovir/Emtricitabine†(contraindicated in patients with CrCl <70mL/min) OR ▸ Raltegravir PLUS ▸ Tenofovir/Emtricitabine† †Emtricitabine may be substituted for lamivudine or vice versa Adapted from Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in HIV-1-infected adults and adolescents. Alternative Regimen PI-Based Regimens ▸ Darunavir/Ritonavir(low dose) PLUS ▸ Abacavir/Lamivudine† (only for HLA-B*5701 negative patients) OR ▸ Lopinavir/Ritonavir(low dose) PLUS ▸ Abacavir/Lamivudine† (only for HLA-B*5701 negative patients) OR ▸ Lopinavir/Ritonavir(low dose) PLUS ▸Tenofovir/Emtricitabine† †Emtricitabine may be substituted for lamivudine or vice versa Adapted from Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in HIV-1-infected adults and adolescents. Alternative Regimen INSTI-Based Regimens ▸ Raltegravir PLUS ▸ Abacavir/Lamivudine† (only for HLA-B*5701 negative patients) †Emtricitabine may be substituted for lamivudine or vice versa Adapted from Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in HIV-1-infected adults and adolescents.

Monitoring CD4 and Viral Load

Scenario	CD4 Monitoring	Viral Load Monitoring
Before receiving ART	Yes	Yes
While receiving ART	3 month after initiation of ART	2-4 weeks after initiation of ART, then every 4-8 weeks
ART regimen is modified	Will depend on previous CD4 counts	4-8 weeks after modification of regimen