Combined ARV, Antibiotic Treatment Could Reduce HIV Mortality Among Patients in Resource-Limited Settings, Study Finds

Simultaneously treating patients living with HIV/AIDS with antiretrovirals (ARVs) and an inexpensive antibiotic known as co-trimoxazole can reduce HIV mortality by 50 percent in the first 18 months of treatment, according to a Lancet study published Monday, VOA News reports (Nyaira, 3/29). "The observational study analyzed 3,179 Ugandan and Zimbabwean participants from the Development of Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Africa (DART) trial, conducted by the MRC in Uganda and Zimbabwe, for almost five years," according to IRIN/PlusNews. Though the WHO recommends "co-trimoxazole prophylaxis for all HIV-infected patients with a CD4 count below 350 ... the DART study found that the use of the antibiotic was inconsistent in Uganda and Zimbabwe," IRIN/PlusNews writes (3/29).

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