title: Is early antiretroviral therapy initiation useful in HIV(+) adults without co-infections?
abstract: HIV infection is a worldwide epidemic. Antiretroviral therapy has dramatically changed the outcome of the disease but there is still controversy about the best time to initiate it, especially in patients with CD4 counts over 350 cells/µL. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified two systematic reviews including four pertinent randomized controlled trials overall. We concluded early initiation of antiretroviral therapy probably reduces mortality, risk of opportunistic infections and tuberculosis, but increases the risk of important adverse effects.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile. Email: xbmonsal@uc.cl.
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chauriye
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile; Departamento de Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Ximena
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Monsalve
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents