What to Start: Selecting a First HIV Regimen
March 13, 2017
What Is an HIV Regimen?
An HIV regimen is a combination of HIV medicines used to treat HIV infection. HIV treatment (also called antiretroviral therapy or ART) begins with choosing an HIV regimen. People on ART take the HIV medicines in their HIV regimens every day. ART helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives and reduces the risk of HIV transmission.
What Are the HIV Drug Classes?HIV medicines are grouped into six drug classes according to how they fight HIV. The six drug classes are:
In general, a person's first HIV regimen includes two NRTIs plus an INSTI, an NNRTI, or a PI boosted with cobicistat (brand name: Tybost) or ritonavir (brand name: Norvir). Cobicistat or ritonavir increase (boost) the effectiveness of the PI.
What Factors Are Considered When Choosing an HIV Regimen?The choice of HIV medicines to include in an HIV regimen depends on a person's individual needs. When choosing an HIV regimen, people with HIV and their health care providers consider the following factors:
The HHS guidelines on the use of HIV medicines in adults and adolescents recommend several regimens for people starting ART. The best regimen for a person depends on their individual needs.
How Long Does It Take for ART to Work?
Viral load is the amount of HIV in a person's blood. A main goal of ART is to reduce a person's viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test.
This fact sheet is based on information from the following sources:
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This article was provided by AIDSinfo. Visit the AIDSinfo website to find out more about their activities and publications.
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