Medication Treatment For HIV

Question 1

What is ART?

Answer 1

Drugs used to treat HIV

Work at various points in the HIV life cycle

Using various drug classes simultaneously makes it more difficult for the virus to recover and decreased chances of drug resistance

Question 2

Considerations when starting ART

Answer 2

Drug resistance develops when ART:

• missed doses
• decreased doses (by patient)
• taken alone

Combination of 3 or more ART drugs should be used

Question 3

Drug resistance

Answer 3

• Missing even a few days of ART can result in resistance
• HIV replicates so quickly that it creates a whole new generation of viruses in the body every 2 1/2 days
• with every new generation made, there is a chance of mutating and becoming drug resistant

Question 4

Complications of ART

Answer 4

Recommended for everyone loving with HIV

Lifelong treatment

Only 36% of those living with HIV are on ART
76% of those on ART have a suppressed Viral Load
This is because patient do not follow the regimen as prescribed

Question 5

Adverse effects of LONG term ART

Answer 5

Lipodystrophy: abnormal redistribution of fat throughout body

Hyperlipidemia: ⬆️ triglycerides ⬆️ LDL ⬇️HDL

Insulin Resistance

Hyperglycemia

Bone disease: osteoporosis or osteopenia

Hepatotoxicity

Nephrotoxicity

⬆️ risk of cardiovascular disease and MI