Recommended HIV Treatment Regimens
Recommended HIV Treatment
Regimens
What is the treatment for HIV?
Antiretroviral therapy (ART)
is the recommended
treatment for HIV. ART involves
taking a combination of
anti-HIV medications (a
regimen
) every day. Anti-HIV
medications (also called
antiretrovirals
) are grouped into six
drug classes
according to how they ght HIV. e
six classes
are non-nucleoside reverse
transcriptase inhibitors
(NNRTIs), nucleoside reverse
transcriptase inhibitors
(NRTIs), protease inhibitors
(PIs), fusion inhibitors, CCR5
antagonists, and integrase
inhibitors.
Recommended HIV treatment
regimens include three or
more anti-HIV medications from at
least two dierent drug
classes. Taking a combination of
anti-HIV medications from
dierent classes is the most
eective way to control the virus.
Some anti-HIV medications are
available in combination
(two or more medications in one
pill).
Anti-HIV medications are approved
by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA). See
the
FDA-Approved Anti-
HIV Medications
fact sheet for a complete list of
medications used in HIV treatment
regimens in the United
States.
How will I know which anti-HIV
medications
to take?
e best combination of anti-HIV
medications for you
depends on your individual needs.
Factors that you and your
health care provider will
consider when selecting your HIV
regimen include:
•
Other diseases or conditions you
may have
•
Possible side eects of anti-HIV
medications
•
e risk of interactions between
anti-HIV medications and
other medications you take
•
Results of
drug-resistance testing
and other tests
•
Convenience of the regimen. (For
example, a regimen that
involves taking only one pill a
day is convenient to follow.)
•
Any personal issues that can make
following a regimen
di
cult (such as depression or alcohol or drug abuse)
What are the recommended regimens
for
people taking anti-HIV
medications for the
first time?
After considering your individual
needs, you and your health
care provider may select one of
the following regimens
recommended for people taking
anti-HIV medications for
the rst time:
•
Atripla
(a combination of three anti-HIV
medications in
one pill)
•
Reyataz
+
Norvir
+
Truvada
(Truvada is a combination of
two anti-HIV medications in one
pill.)
•
Prezista
+
Norvir
+
Truvada
•
Isentress
+
Truvada
Terms Used in This Fact Sheet:
Antiretroviral:
A medication that prevents a
retrovirus,
such as HIV, from making copies
of itself. Anti-HIV
medications are also called
antiretrovirals.
Antiretr
oviral therapy (ART):
The recommended
treatment for HIV. ART involves
taking a combination of
three or more anti-HIV
medications from at least two
different drug classes every day
to control the virus.
A
tripla:
A combination of three anti-HIV
medications in
one pill—Sustiva (also called
efavirenz or EFV), Emtriva
(also called emtricitabine or
FTC), and Viread (also called
tenofovir or TDF).
Drug class:
A group of medications that work
in the same
way.
Drug-resistance t
esting:
Testing to identify which
anti-HIV
medications will or will not be
effective against a
person’s specific strain of HIV.
Drug-resistance testing is
done using a sample of blood.
Isentress:
An anti-HIV medication in the
integrase
inhibitor class. Isentress is
also called raltegravir or RAL.
Nor
vir:
An anti-HIV medication in the
protease inhibitor
(PI) class. Norvir is also called
ritonavir or RTV.
Prezista:
An anti-HIV medication in the
protease inhibitor
(PI) class. Prezista is also
called darunavir or DRV.
R
egimen:
A combination of three or more
anti-HIV
medications from at least two
different drug classes.
Re
yataz:
An anti-HIV medication in the
protease inhibitor
(PI) class. Reyataz is also
called atazanavir or ATV.
Sustiv
a:
An anti-HIV medication in the
non-nucleoside
reverse transcriptase inhibitor
(NNRTI) class. Sustiva is
also called efavirenz or EFV.
Truvada:
Two anti-HIV medications from the
nucleoside
reverse transcriptase (NRTI)
class—Emtriva and Viread—
combined in a single pill.
Emtriva is also called
emtricitabine or FTC. Viread is
also called tenofovir or TDF.
This information is based on the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services’
Guidelines for the Use of
Reviewed
Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected
Adults and Adolescents
(available at
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/guidelines
).
August 2012
Women who are planning on
becoming pregnant or are in
the rst trimester of pregnancy
should not use Atripla or
Sustiva
. (Sustiva, which is one of the
medications in Atripla,
may cause birth defects that
develop during the rst few
months of pregnancy.) If you are
pregnant or expect to
become pregnant soon, talk to
your health care provider
about the benets and risks of
taking anti-HIV medications.
(See the
HIV and Pregnancy
fact sheet series for information
on HIV treatment regimens for
pregnant women.)
Because individual needs vary,
these recommended HIV
treatment regimens may not be
right for everyone. If none of
the preferred regimens is right
for you, your health care
provider will help you select an
alternative regimen based on
your needs.
Will I have side effects from the
anti-HIV
medications in my regimen?
Anti-HIV medications can cause
side eects. Side eects vary
depending on the anti-HIV
medication. And people taking
the same medication may not have
the same side eects.
Before starting treatment,
discuss possible side eects with
your health care provider or
pharmacist.
Most side eects from anti-HIV
medications are manageable.
However, side eects that become
unbearable or life
threatening call for a change in
medications. Side eects that
may seem minor, such as fever,
nausea, fatigue, or rash, can
indicate serious problems. Once
you start treatment, always
discuss any side eects from your
anti-HIV medications with
your health care provider.
Interactions between anti-HIV
medications and other
medications can increase the risk
of side eects. Drug
interactions can also reduce the
eectiveness of anti-HIV
medications. (Anti-HIV
medications can also have the same
eect on other medications.)
Always tell your health care
provider about other medications
you take, including when
you switch or stop taking a
medication.
For more information:
Contact an AIDS
info
health information specialist at
1–
800–448–0440 or visit
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov
. See your
health care provider for medical
advice.
This information is based on the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services’
Guidelines for the Use of
Reviewed
Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected
Adults and Adolescents
(available at
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/guidelines
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