New Treatment Guidelines for HIV Patients Suggest Drug Treatment Can Be Delayed

New treatment guidelines suggest symptom-free HIV patients can wait longer than previously recommended to begin taking AIDS drugs. The new guidelines appear in the July 10th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association ("Antiretroviral Treatment for Adult HIV Infection in 2002: Updated Recommendations of the International AIDS Society-USA Panel," 2002; 288:222-235) but were released early to coincide with the International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

"The threshold for initiation of therapy has shifted to a later time in the course of HIV disease" because of increased awareness of the effectiveness of AIDS drugs and their toxic side effects, the International AIDS Society-USA panel, concluded.

The panel recommends starting drug treatment when levels of the disease-fighting CD4 count drops to between 200 and 350/cubic millimeter. The drugs may be beneficial in some patients with higher counts, but the risks in such patients generally outweigh the benefits, said the guidelines.

The International AIDS Society-USA, a nonprofit group that educates doctors involved in AIDS care, does not recommend which specific drugs should be used. But it says patients are more likely to stick with drugs taken twice daily than with those that must be taken more often.

"A few pills a day can control the virus as effectively as large handfuls did only a few years ago," said board chair Dr. Paul Volberding of the University of California-San Francisco.

Back to other CDC news for July 8, 2002

Previous Updates