Guidelines for managing HIV infection
De Cock, K.M.
BMJ 315(7099): 1-2
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0959-8138 PMID: 9233308 Document Number: 471533
A panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (USA) has defined the scientific principles that should guide treatment and its monitoring in clinical practice. The second panel, sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, developed recommendations based on these principles for the clinical use of antiretroviral treatment. Together, the documents clearly state that triple therapy (generally consisting of two nucleoside analogues and a protease inhibitor) should be the standard treatment for any person with HIV infection, including as initial therapy. Treatment is recommended essentially for all people with CD4+ cell counts <500 x 106/l, as well as for asymptomatic people with counts >500 x 106/l and active viral replication (>10 000 viral copies/ml). It is stated, however, that many experts would advise treatment for HIV-infected people with CD4+ cell counts >500 x 106/l and any detectable level of virus.