[Download] "Pharmacokinetics of Antiretroviral Drugs in Infancy (Clinical) (Report)" by Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free

eBook details

Title: Pharmacokinetics of Antiretroviral Drugs in Infancy (Clinical) (Report)
Author : Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine
Release Date : January 01, 2009
Genre: Health & Fitness,Books,Health, Mind & Body,
Pages : * pages
Size : 220 KB

Description

Infancy (from birth until 1 year of age) is a time of rapid changes in the body of a child. These changes affect pharmacokinetics in many ways. The CHER study (1) showed that early antiretroviral (ARV) treatment reduces mortality and disease progression among infants acquiring HIV infection before 12 weeks of age. As a result the World Health Organization has recently revised treatment initiation recommendations in children less than 1 year of age: all infants under 12 months of age with confirmed HIV infection should be started on ARV therapy, irrespective of clinical or immunological stage. (2) Dosing in infants is challenging because drug concentrations are highly variable, there is frequently scant pharmacokinetic information on young children, and few suitable drug formulations are available. Furthermore, adherence to treatment is reliant on the caregiver rather than the patient. Peri- and postnatal HIV transmission are reduced by maternal highly active ARV treatment (HAART). However, the benefits and risks to breast-fed infants of exposure to maternal ARV drugs during lactation are poorly understood. In this article we review the pharmacokinetics of ARV drugs relevant to South African infants, and highlight some of the challenges to delivering ARV treatment in safe and effective doses.