title: Strategies for rescue therapy.
abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA load will be detectable in approximately 40% of non-naive HIV patients who are taking triple therapy after 1 year of follow-up. Treatment failure may involve factors related to the physician (poor prescribing), the patient (poor compliance due to complicated regimens or side-effects), or the drug (pharmacological aspects such as poor bioavailability). The primary mechanism for drug failure is viral resistance to available HIV therapies. Whereas initial therapy should be aggressive, second- or third-line therapy demands a more measured approach, as treatment options become more limited. Rescue or salvage therapy refers to therapy after everything else has failed. Issues related to rescue therapy for HIV-positive subjects include drug holidays, drug recycling and the potential for new drugs in this setting.
authors.affiliation: National AIDS Therapy Evaluation Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. j.lange@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lange
mesh_terms: D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006918:Hydroxyurea / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D006918:Hydroxyurea