Open AccessOne size doesn’t fit all: Tailoring adult antiretroviral treatment
Author(s) -
Nathan Geffen,
Meryn Robinson,
F Venter,
Marcus Low
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
southern african journal of hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2078-6751
pISSN - 1608-9693
DOI - 10.4102/sajhivmed.v15i3.6
Subject(s) - efavirenz , antiretroviral treatment , antiretroviral therapy , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , public health , medicine , intensive care medicine , family medicine , viral load , nursing
Advances in antiretroviral treatment mean that patients in the public health system can be given more options in the management of their treatment. Although public health programmes tend to offer one-size-fits-all approaches, patients might benefit from a more flexible approach. In particular, we propose that people with HIV should be given more choice with regard to when to start treatment, and patients who experience efavirenz side-effects should be encouraged to switch to other medications, which will be facilitated by faster registration and lower prices of newer antiretrovirals.