title: Clinical utility of testing human immunodeficiency virus for drug resistance.
abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 drug-resistance testing is quickly moving from the research laboratory to the clinic as data defining its utility as a prognostic indicator of response to therapy become available. In July 1998, a panel of the International AIDS Society-USA did not recommend the widespread application of resistance testing, but by May 2000 this panel endorsed and recommended the incorporation of resistance testing in patient-care management. Considerable data supporting the use of drug-resistance testing have now been published or presented at international conferences. These data strongly suggest that drug-resistance testing is of considerable value in many clinical settings. Prospective trials of resistance testing as a clinical management tool are still ongoing, and the long-term benefits still need to be evaluated. Nevertheless, early results from several studies showed a significantly better virological response when treatment regimens were based on resistance-testing data, rather than on the standard of care. HIV drug-resistance testing is also useful as a tool for new antiretroviral drug design and development, as well as for monitoring the spread of primary HIV drug resistance.
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada. lab@hivnet.ubc.ca
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Harrigan
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Côté
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods; D010346:Patient Care Management; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors