title: Strategies for initiating combination antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: Numerous potent antiretroviral regimens have proven successful as initial therapy in treatment-naive HIV-infected patients. As the development of new agents makes possible new treatment regimens, providers are faced with increasingly complex questions of when to initiate treatment and which regimen to select for individual patients. Clinical trial data provide a foundation for choosing an initial regimen and play a key role in the formation of treatment guidelines issued by the United States Public Health Service and other organizations. This paper reviews the results of recent clinical trials focusing on initial therapy and addresses important considerations when beginning antiretroviral therapy (ART) in treatment-naive individuals.
authors.affiliation: NYU School of Medicine and Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York, USA. MLTAPPER@aol.com
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Tapper
authors.forename: Eric S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Daar
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Piliero
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Corklin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Steinhart
mesh_terms: D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020714:Maximum Tolerated Dose; D018579:Patient Selection; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D019562:Viral Load