HIV treatment Guidelines Updated for Adults and Adolescents

NIH TESELEA!.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Greg Folkers
Monday, Feb. 5, 2001 National Institutes of Health
I 11111I [phone], gfolkers(nih.gov
111i 1 11111 111111 Ii Ill Jennifer Morales
5571095.0291.030 Kaiser Family Foundation
[phone] x273, jmorales(kff.org
HIV Treatment Guidelines Updated for Adults and Adolescents
An updated version of the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-Infected Adults
and Adolescents, which includes revised recommendations for when to initiate anti-HIV therapy, has
been posted to the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) Web site (www.hivatis.org).
The Guidelines were developed by the Panel on Clinical Practices for the Treatment of HIV
Infection, a joint effort of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation. Initially published in 1998, the Guidelines were constructed as a "living document" and are
updated by the Panel as new data emerge.
"Although antiretroviral therapy has provided extraordinary benefits to many patients, we know
that we cannot eradicate HIV infection with currently available medications," says Anthony S. Fauci,
M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and co-chair of the
Panel. "We also recognize that serious toxicities are associated with the long-term use of antiretroviral
drugs. The new treatment guidelines provide patients and their doctors with evidence-based
recommendations for initiating antiretroviral therapy that take into account both the benefits and
potential risks of currently available treatment regimens."
The new Guidelines recommend considering starting antiretroviral therapy when the HIVinfected person's CD4+ T-cell count falls below 350 cells per cubic millimeter (mm3); preVious
Guidelines recommended consideration of therapy for patients with a CD4+ T-cell count lower than 500
cells/mm3.
For HIV-infected patients with CD4+ T-cell counts higher than 350 cells/mm3, treatment should

be considered when the level of HIV in plasma is high [more than 30,000 copies per milliliter (ml) when
using the branched DNA test, or more than 55,000 copies/mI when using the RT-PCR test]; previous
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